Herald
by Ialesthrumov
Summary: Don't try to dodge the proverbial bullet of fate - it has a nasty way of finding you, especially when there's a time-travelling Prime involved.  Not to mention a Jazz that just won't stay in the Matrix, and a far too charming - if creepy - Ultra Magnus.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I don't own them...wish I did.

**Pairing and characters:** Magnus/OFC, Optimus/Elita, Ironhide/Chromia, Ratchet, Vector Prime, ghost!Jazz, Lennox, Prowl, Epps, Soundwave, various other Autobots and Decepticons, OCs

**Rating for:** swearing, mature topics (thanks, Chromia), and a non-explicit sex scene

**A/N: **Constructive criticism and reviews are always appreciated. :3

**- Chapter 1 -**

On the few times I contemplated it, I always figured that, should it ever turn out that there _were_ alternate realities, and I _somehow_ got caught up in them, that it would result this big glorious, heroic adventure. It would start from the moment I arrived, and I'd never have time to think about it until I managed to get home, and I'd end up famous, in one reality or another, or I'd save the world, something like that. I mean, that's what happens in the TV shows, right? Yeah. I suppose I should have listened a little more closely to that one professor in university who asked us what aliens would think of our civilization if they came to Earth and we'd completely destroyed ourselves and everything we'd created, except for a recorded season of Friends. TV lies.

And yet, amidst the lies, there is a kernal of truth, even if it does simplify and compress things.

It had been the night of my graduation, oddly enough. I had my degree in my hand - or, well, on my dresser at home - and hadn't even looked at my student loans yet, nor stopped to wonder what on Earth I was going to do with a BA in classics when I barely passed the required language courses for it. I was just out to have a good night on the town, and celebrate the end of university with my friends. Which we did, with style - six bars, two pubs, and one lounge later, we were stumbling our way home. It was dark, I stumbled a bit more than usual, and when I looked up, I clearly remember there being a pole, and me hitting that pole.

I woke up the next morning in the drunk tank of a city halfway across the continent. At first, I chalked up getting from Calgary to San Francisco as the results of a bender of epic proportions. It was unlikely, but what else was I supposed to think?

I started thinking other things when I phoned home, intending to beg a ticket home from my parents. I hung up when a little old lady answered the phone, and two tries later, I realized that they really weren't there. More phone calls revealed that several of my friends' numbers were disconnected, and those that did connect didn't lead to the right person. I finally got someone with the right name when I tried one of my cousins' numbers that I barely remembered, but they knew nothing about my parents.

Freaking out and further research ensued, until I finally figured out that I, and most of my family, did not exist anymore. The phones could have been a giant hoax by my friends and family, but my facebook page, and every other piece of evidence of me on the internet, was gone as well. It was a miracle my cell phone was still working, because there was no trace of this particular Terry Gorman anywhere that _I_ could discover.

So I found myself sitting on a corner in San Francisco, staring out at the bay wondering what the hell had happened to me. That was when the alternate reality idea occurred to me - I wasn't quite ready to jump to the paranoid _'somebody is out to get me and has erased my identity completely'_ idea yet, after all. So, in-between spending my few remaining Canadian dollars on food and crashing out on a park bench for awhile, I dug, trying to find anything different.

I found it the next day at the library, when I was pouring over an atlas - Los Angeles was now Mission City. And yeah, I knew what that meant. Transformers. And judging from the news, and the date, I was after the second movie, yet there was no evidence of the world knowing about Cybertronians.

I thought about going to find them. I came up with all these elaborate plans to contact someone involved with the Autobots, in fact. But in the end, I didn't. Not only because I'd have to go way down the ladder - Sam Witwicky's facebook was about as secure as Fort Knox, as was every other reference to him or anyone else mentioned in the film anywhere on the internet - but because I realized it would probably be best if I didn't show up on their doorstep, for all parties involved. I had an older brother that had loved them as a kid, so I'd grown up on their lore, and had seen most of the shows, heard the stories about the characters. I knew a lot, and I didn't know what of it was true, if any of it could be potentially harmful if I accidentally mentioned it to the wrong person. Or, I could know jack shit and just end up being some stupid human that the Autobots or the government would end up having to deal with somehow. The only good outcomes, in fact, were hardly realistic. There was the fact that maybe the Autobots could get me home, but the more I thought about it, the less likely I figured that was.

So instead, I discovered just why America has a problem with illegal immigrants. Getting a job under the table, with no ID, was surprisingly easy. So was finding a place to stay, once I had the cash in hand. From there, it was just a question of working my way up the quasi-legal job ladder. It was strange, and yet liberating, to be completely free from my old life. I found myself taking interesting turns in personality.

I'd been a reclusive classics major who only went out for special occasions before - a library geek, an academic, more into my books than the traditional 'girly' things. After a year in this alternate reality, I only set foot in the library to use the internet - and infrequently for that. Instead, I spent most of my time either waiting tables at Eric's Family Restaurant and Gas Station, on the outskirts of San Francisco, or hanging out with the friends I'd acquired, either in bars, going to movies, shopping, or other outings. I actually went tanning regularly now, and found myself concerned with my hair and makeup, where before such things had been of no interest to me. I suppose it was my way of dealing - I couldn't go back to my old life, so I chose to just forget it, to become as different from it as possible.

I should have known better, though. When the universe has already turned your life upside down, it would be logical to expect more of the same. Murphy's Law, and all that. I plead emotional trauma for not having thought of that, though.

* * *

"Hi, my name's Terry, I'll be your server. What can I get for you this morning? Trucker's specials all around?" I asked, tucking my shoulder-length brown hair behind one ear as I surveyed the four men that were our first customers for the day. A more different group of people I couldn't imagine. Though their trucks were sitting out in the lot, only one had the stereotypical trucker look, complete with the baseball hat. Two of them had the classic sports team jock look down, and the last obviously had either some relation to the army or really liked the look.

"Only two," the army guy said. "But four coffees, please."

"Sure thing," I replied with a smile, and headed off to the kitchen. Them being the only customers at the moment, I got their coffees, then waited by the kitchen for their order to be ready, chatting with the cook, Dan, about a movie me and some of the other waitresses had gone to see last night. When their food was ready, I carried it over, somewhat surprised that the two specials were for the army guy and one of the sports-team guys, while the trucker stereotype wasn't having anything. Like a good waitress, I didn't comment on the oddity, simply asking if they were sure they didn't want anything, and then I went on my merry way.

Shortly afterwards, our second customers of the day arrived, and after them, more. I passed by the table with our first customers a few times, asking if they needed anything, but they never did, and I didn't think anything of them until after they'd left. I was passing through the kitchen on my break when Dan called my name, and I poked my head back around the freezer curiously.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Do you know those guys that were in here first thing this morning?" Dan asked, frowning.

"No, why?" I asked, looking surprised - I had barely talked to the guys, even when we weren't busy. I obviously didn't know them too well.

"The guy with the hat was staring at you the entire time they were in here," Dan replied.

"He was?" I asked, thinking back to the trucker stereotype. "Ew. Creepy," I commented.

"Yeah. You have a ride home tonight?" Dan asked, not even trying to be subtle.

"I'll find one," I told him reassuringly - I'd heard a few tales of waitresses followed home and harassed, enough to be wary of it.

"I'm off before you, but my number's on the sheet, call me if you don't find one," Dan said, nodding towards the employee contact sheet.

"Um - ok," I said, giving him an uncertain look, then excused myself and went outside for the rest of my break. Dan was a nice guy, but he was also a bit of a pot-head. I had no doubt that if I called him after work, he'd show up half-baked. And he lived across the bay. I'd just find another ride - it wouldn't be the first time I'd hung around work until one of my co-workers was off, after all.

I ended up catching a ride from Sara, one of the other waitresses - a younger one that was still trying to live her dream of getting into modeling or acting, and only worked part-time, coming in for lunch and then heading out to find her big break. Nothing happened during the ride home, and I put the trucker staring at me out of my head and went back to business as usual - until he showed up again a week later, this time just with the army guy.

I was a bit less friendly this time, and a bit more clumsy, as I realized that Dan was right and the trucker guy did seem to stare at me the entire time they were in the restaurant. I would have hidden in the kitchen if I could, but we were somewhat busy. I still retreated when I could, and was grateful when they left. I caught a cab to a friend's place after, and stayed the night with her.

I was on edge for the next week, waiting for the trucker to come back. When he did, I flat out refused to serve him and his friends - three others, missing the army guy from before, but two of them looking similar and one looking like he should be in a business suit. Fortunately, Dan was working, and backed me up when I told Eric, my boss, about the guy. So I got to stay in the kitchen and help Dan while Eric waited my tables, and then I took over from him as soon as the trucker and his friends left. Eric wasn't pleased with it, but understood my concern. He just refused to let me do it again until I had a more legitimate reason to worry than 'he stares creepily at me' - which, according to Eric, half the restaurant did regularly. It was the downside of being a female waitress in a restaurant favoured by truckers, he said.

Fortunately, it seemed as if the trucker wasn't coming back. A month passed without sight of him, and then one evening, about half an hour before close, I looked up from my pre-emptive cleaning - the place was empty, so I was getting ready to go early - as the bell rang and saw him stepping inside. Since this was the first time he'd come near the end of my shift, I was a little wary, but went to serve him, anyways - Dan was busy in the kitchen, and Eric _did_ have security cameras, and would have my job if I didn't help the guy.

"What'll it be?" I asked, internally wincing at how terse the question came out.

"Coffee," the trucker said, sounding tired. I realized with a start that this was the first time I'd heard him speak, and that he actually had quite a pleasant voice - not rough or growly like most of the trucker stereotypes we got in. Apparently he wasn't a smoker.

"Coming right up," I responded, and headed for the coffee pot. I poured him his cup and then went back to cleaning up. I was tense at first, expecting him to continue staring at me, but when I snuck a glance at him, I found that he actually had his eyes closed, head bowed over his cup of coffee, which he'd wrapped his hands around but didn't seem to have drunk out of. Half an hour later, when I was debating going over to let him know we were closing, he abruptly stood, nodded in my direction, tossed a couple dollars on the table, and left. He hadn't touched his coffee, and was long gone by the time Dan drove me home.

* * *

"So, you becoming a regular here or something?" I asked the next time I saw him, a few days later. It was a slow day - raining buckets outside, supposedly the remains of a tropical storm - and he'd shown up alone, ordering a cup of coffee before fixing his gaze out the window. I suppose that, since he wasn't staring at me any longer, I felt a little bolder - also, I was in a good mood today.

"Just stopping in whenever I'm passing through," he replied, seeming startled as I took a seat across from him in the booth.

"You seem to be doing that a lot lately," I commented.

"Is there a problem with that?" he asked, seeming irritated.

"No, just wondering if I should reserve this table for you or something, since you always pick it. I mean, our other regulars have their seats, and we'll do our best to have them available for them when we know they're stopping in," I replied lightly, then pointed to the table for two across the aisle from the booth. "That's Jim and Bob's table, for example. They come in every holiday for lunch. Been doing it for years, and are actually the reason Eric originally ordered a 'reserved' sign - we get busy on Easter Sunday, of all holidays, and they used to have to wait for a spot, until we got that sign." The guy chuckled.

"Fascinating. I doubt I'll be through on such a regular schedule, though. And I really don't care where I sit - this is just habit," he said.

"So you say now, but when you come in and have to take another seat, don't give me a puppy-dog look because everything is weird from your new seat," I told him warningly, though I was grinning as I spoke. The guy laughed at that.

"I promise I won't!" he assured me once he calmed down.

"Good. Eric doesn't like it when I toss customers out so regulars can have their seats, anyways," I said with a snicker.

"You? Toss customers out?" he seemed amused, glancing over what he could see of me above the table, and then leaned in slightly. "Somehow I think you mean you'd get the guy in the kitchen to do it for you," he said conspiratorially. I gasped in mock outrage, then snickered again.

"Yeah, probably. If I ever did," I said. "Only came close to asking him to do so once, though."

"Oh?" he seemed curious, and I suddenly groaned, realizing what I'd just backed myself into - he was the only guy I'd contemplated asking Dan to kick out. "Too embarrassing a story?" he asked, sounding amused.

"Only in present company. You creeped me out when you first started showing up," I said, then promptly hid my furiously blushing face in my hands. To my surprise, the guy didn't laugh, and when I looked up, he was giving me a serious look.

"I'm sorry," he said, sincerely. "I did not mean to."

"Er - it's fine. All in the past, now," I said, giving him a reassuring smile, then excused myself to do something or another that I later couldn't remember. The guy didn't seem offended, but left not long after, once again leaving an untouched coffee and a couple dollars on the table. My good mood deflated a little once I realized he was gone.

He was back the next day. I didn't serve him, but I passed him on his way out.

"You're right, it is different at another table," he commented with a small grin, and I flashed him an answering one, only just then realizing he'd been at a different table.

* * *

"Dan, you need to put those muscles of yours to work," I said with a sigh as I entered the kitchen a week later, and he looked up from the grill as Chelsey, one of the other waitresses and sometimes-cook, slipped past me and grabbed an apron, getting ready to take over for him.

"There are a couple guys out there making a nuisance of themselves - you've probably heard them," Chelsey said. "They're bothering other customers, and since Eric hired you to both cook and bounce..."

"Hunh. Been awhile," Dan commented, taking off his apron and handing his flipper to Chelsey. She and I winced as there was a particularly loud round of laughter from the obnoxious guys that had sat down in the middle of the restaurant. "Alright, I'll go kick them out," he said, heading out, and I followed him to the kitchen door, watching from there as he walked up to the guys. It was an ugly situation to start with - any guys who were rude enough to cause this sort of a problem in the first place wouldn't leave quietly - but considering Dan was an ex-football player, and still worked out regularly - even if he wasn't in as good shape due to all his pot smoking - not many people would stand up to him. These guys, apparently, were the type to do so.

They were just as rude with Dan as they had been with Chelsey and I, but they got worse, and more nasty, as Dan refused to back down, insisting that they leave. It was nothing but talk, however, until Dan clamped a hand on the arm of one, clearly intending to haul him up and drag him out of the restaurant. The guys spun and punched Dan so fast I barely saw it, and Dan lost his grip, staggering backwards, arm instinctively clutching his middle. The guys he'd been trying to kick out, meanwhile, turned from being annoying to be aggressive. The looks on their faces weren't pretty as they focused on Dan, and I found myself edging forward, glancing towards the emergency button for the police.

Then the bell rang, announcing someone entering. Everyone's attention momentarily shifted to the door, and I winced as I found my ex-creepy trucker standing there, surveying the scene. Oddly, he seemed to have caught the problem guys' attention entirely, staring them down.

"I think it's time you gentlemen leave," he rumbled after several long moments, and one of the problem guys snarled before they all rose, kicking over their chairs and shooting Dan looks of contempt before heading out, brushing past my trucker friend on their way out. There was a pause as the other customers saw the problem guys get in their cars, then once they were gone, there was a rousing cheer, for both Dan and the trucker. Dan accepted the cheer with a sheepish grin and a wave, while the trucker merely nodded, following Dan over to the kitchen entrance, where I still waited.

"Nice lone ranger entrance," Chelsey commented, startling me, and I jerked my head around to find her peering over my shoulder - quite the feat, considering I was six feet even, and she was well under that.

"Thank you," the trucker said with a nod, bringing my attention back to him.

"Yeah, thanks. Saved my bacon - those guys hit _hard_," Dan commented as he squeezed passed Chelsey and I into the kitchen. Chelsey took the opportunity to take off the apron and return to waitress duty.

"I hope they didn't cause too much of a problem," the trucker said with concern as Chelsey set about refilling drinks and chatting with the customers, helping to restore the friendly atmosphere.

"They were about to," I said, shaking my head. "Right after I told you I've never had to call Dan to kick someone out before, too."

"I believe there's something known as Murphy's Law that would apply here," the trucker said, looking amused, and I laughed.

"I suppose it would," I said. "But here, grab a seat, I'll get you some coffee on the house for scaring those punks off." The trucker nodded, and headed for his usual table, while I went to get him his coffee. He stayed for the rest of the afternoon, oddly, only getting up to leave around the time I was getting off. He didn't drink his coffee, either, just staring out the window, or glancing around the restaurant.

"You're easing back into the creepy category," I commented as he left behind me.

"It's not intentional - I was distracted, and I didn't realize until I heard you saying goodbye how much time had passed," he replied with a shrug and a faint smile. I gave him an appraising look.

"Alright, if you say so," I said as I headed for the bus stop. After I few steps, I turned around, walking slowly backwards, suddenly curious. "By the way, you've officially saved Dan's bacon, and we're on speaking terms - so what the hell is your name?" he was already at his truck, but stopped to look over at me. There was a long pause before he finally answered -

"Magnus."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Still not mine...need to go win the lottery and buy Hasbro first...

**A/N: **As usual, reviews and constructive criticism are appreciated and lurved! ^.^

**- Chapter 2 -**

It was impossible not to make the obvious connection once the trucker told me his name, especially since he was climbing into a big blue and white truck, but I firmly reminded myself that Magnus _was_ an actual human name - a Scandinavian one, too, which fit with his looks - and told him it was nice to meet him before saying goodbye and turning back to the bus stop. I even managed to wave as Magnus drove past a few minutes later, and he waved back.

I called in to work sick the next two days, too agitated to think straight. My mind kept going in is-he-or-isn't-he-an-Autobot circles, and when it wasn't doing that, it was trying to decide if either result was good or bad. I made myself go back the third day, though, knowing that Eric would start making pointed comments about my job otherwise. I was distracted all day, and it wasn't until I dropped an order that I snapped out of it. The fuss over that got me focused on my work again, and then I was back to business as usual, putting the whole subject behind me as irrelevant.

Until Magnus showed up again two weeks later. With a friend. Who was pretty much impossible to _not_ recognize, even before Magnus introduced him.

"Uh, nice to meet you, Orien," I said, trying my best to act normal as Magnus introduced his 'brother'. I was having a hard time not glancing out into the parking lot constantly at the flame-decaled Peterbilt that 'Orien' had arrived in. It was official - I was serving the - holoforms? robotic avatars? - of Ultra Magnus and Optimus Prime. Either that or there was a coincidence of cosmic proportions occurring.

"Likewise," Orien said pleasantly, smiling.

"Soooo, coffee for both of you?" I guessed.

"Tea, actually," Orien replied.

"Earl grey or herbal?" I asked.

"Do you have mint?" Orien asked in reply, and I nodded. "I'll have that."

"Alright, I'll be right back with your drinks then," I said with a smile, and headed off. I took a brief detour on the way to get their drinks, ducking into the bathroom and staring wide-eyed at myself in the mirror as I tried to make the surreal sensation of that short conversation go away. Apparently Optimus Prime liked mint tea. Or liked to pretend to like mint tea? I shook my head, telling myself to stop being silly and get back to work.

It only got worse when I emerged from the bathroom, though. I was carrying 'Orien' and Magnus's drinks to them when I happened to glance out at the parking lot...and saw a bright yellow-green search and rescue hummer and a huge black truck with familiar smoke stacks parked next to the Peterbilt. Somehow I was unsurprised when the two guys entering the restaurant just as I looked up, a gruff looking army guy and a paramedic, headed in the same direction as me, arriving just before me. I waited for them to sit down before handing Magnus his coffee and 'Orien' his tea, then looked to the two newcomers.

"Anything for you two?" I asked , wondering if my voice sounded strained to any of them, or if I was just imagining things.

"Coffee," Ratchet said.

"No," said Ironhide, glaring up at me.

"Alright, be right back," I replied, forcing a smile, and got the extra coffee as quickly as I could before heading off to help my other tables. Hyper-aware of them as I was, it was impossible not to notice that one of the four from that table seemed to be watching me at all times as I went about my duties, and I grew more and more tense as my shift wore on. When Chelsey finally showed up to replace me, the four of them were still there, talking quietly amongst themselves and still on the same drinks. I disappeared to the back and stayed there, watching them on the security camera in Eric's office, waiting for them to leave. Eventually, however, I gave up and just snuck out the back...only to discover the big black truck had moved. Unsurprisingly, a few moments after I stopped dead, staring at the truck, Magnus and Ironhide came around the corner.

"Oh, Terry. I thought you'd left awhile ago," Magnus commented as he saw me.

"Ya-huh," I said, turning to look at him blankly. "What do you guys want?" It was their turn to freeze.

"What do you mean? We don't want anything," Magnus said after a beat.

"Yeah. Sure," I said dubiously, glancing from them to the truck.

"We don't," Magnus insisted.

"OK, cool, then why did you guys wait until I left to leave the restaurant? And why did this truck move around back, when it was out front to start with?" I asked innocently.

"Er -" Magnus paused.

"I had a friend move it to get it out of the sun. And we're just leaving now because we're done," Ironhide grumbled, stalking over to the truck and opening the door. Climbing in, he turned and glared at me. "Are you done interrogating customers now?" I rocked back on my heels and debated my possible answers.

"Yeah, I'm done," I finally settled on, feeling far too frazzled to go toe-to-giant-toe with Ironhide right now. "Going home now." I suited actions to words, heading off without a backwards glance.

* * *

Magnus was back the next day, apologizing for his 'friend'.

"He's just a little gruff with people, it's his way," Magnus finished - he'd caught me outside enjoying the sun on my break, so I didn't really have an excuse to cut him off when he came up and said hi.

"That's fine, I was being unnaturally paranoid anyways," I said shortly, doing my best to get across that I didn't want to talk. There was an uncomfortable silence. "I'm sure Chelsey would be more than happy to serve you your coffee," I said without looking over at him.

"I don't exactly come here for the coffee," he said dryly, and I frowned over at him.

"You like to teeter on the edge of the 'creepy' category, don't you?" I asked.

"Only in regards to you," he replied, looking amused. I gave him a suspicious look.

"I'm not sure whether I should be flattered, or running back inside and calling the police," I said finally, more for show than anything else, because I was honestly starting to get curious as to what he, a giant robotic alien, could want with me, a lowly waitress that had been very careful not to show any signs of being anything unusual.

"I'd prefer flattered, but it's your choice," Magnus said with a faint grin.

"Well, I'd need more information to make an informed choice," I replied, pondering.

"How about I give you whatever information you require to make that choice over dinner? Say, tonight after you're off?" Magnus replied pleasantly. I stared at him, for perhaps a few moments longer than was normal, before replying.

"Ok." Somehow, I just couldn't turn down what sounded suspiciously like a date with an Autobot.

Magnus left after my break was over, and didn't show up again until I was off - apparently he already knew when I was going to be off. I was glad I kept a change of clothes at work, just case, so I didn't have to go meet him in my uniform, but it was somehow worse that way. The uniform had been a kind of barrier before - it was available as an excuse to escape. But now, here, climbing into Magnus' cab - I tried to be somewhat surprised that we were taking 'his truck' - it felt far too real and I was unexpectedly tense. Magnus glanced over at me as the engine started, and frowned slightly.

"If you're not comfortable riding with me, you could take a cab," he offered. I fought back a giggle and tried not to make a comment about how much of a downgrade a cab would be.

"I'm fine," I said, and did my best to summon a reassuring smile. Magnus didn't look like he believed me, but he pulled out of the parking lot, heading down the street. "So where are we going?" I asked once we were on the street, to avoid an awkward silence.

"There's a restaurant not far from here that, I've been told, makes some amazing pasta. I figured since your menu is a little scarce on that, you might appreciate it," Magnus replied.

"Good choice," I commented. "I love pasta." We made more small talk as we drove to the restaurant. It was a bit classier than I was used to, but it didn't have a dress code, and my clothes were ambiguous enough to pass for classy. I was impressed that Magnus actually ordered food, and sipped from his drink. I was even more impressed when he actually ate the pasta he ordered, and wondered why he and the other Autobots hadn't eaten or drank while they were at Eric's restaurant. We chatted throughout the meal, about nothing in particular - I danced around anything prior to my arrival here, and he tried not to give away anything odd about his past, so we were a little limited on personal history topics. It was enjoyable, however, and I found that we had some similar ideas and opinions, unless he was just completely pulling my leg. I tried to steer the conversation away from human-specific topics as much as I could, anyways, though it was a bit sticky if I stopped and thought about it too much. We mostly ended up with philosophy for a topic, which was interesting, since I hated philosophy.

Eventually, we finished eating, and after an after-dinner wine, Magnus paid the bill and we headed out, falling quiet as we headed for his truck.

"So, is there anything planned for after dinner?" I asked curiously.

"I figured I'd wait and see if you'd decided to be flattered or call the police, first, before I made any further plans," Magnus said conspiratorially as we paused by his truck. I laughed.

"I think I've settled on flattered, if a little confused," I told him honestly.

"Confused?" Magnus asked, seeming amused.

"You show up in my restaurant one day, act like a creepy stalker, then a couple months and some random encounters later, you ask me out on a date. Where did this come from?" I asked, waving my hand vaguely through the air. It was an honest question, if vague and open to interpretation depending on what one assumed the other person knew.

"That's generally the big mystery, isn't it?" he asked, grinning, and I gave him a wry smile, half wishing I could tell him that I _knew_ he was an Autobot just to get a real answer. Then again, it was entirely possible that the answer would be the same. Which was...an interesting thought. "So, since you've decided not to call the police, I hear there's some good movies playing in the theatres."

"Oh my, dinner _and_ a movie? Aren't we going all-out," I commented, but reached for the door handle, climbing into the truck as Magnus headed for the other side. "What did you have in mind to see?" I asked once he was in.

"I figured we could decide once we got there," Magnus said with a smile as the truck started. Of course, that prompted a pre-decision discussion about the movies that were playing, so that by the time we got to the theatre, we'd pretty much decided on the new Star Trek movie, which amused me to no end, especially since Magnus was politely neutral about it (but we both agreed that it was better than anything else playing).

Watching the movie was fun, since Magnus kept squirming in his seat every time there was technobabble, until I asked him quietly if he had a problem with the tech in the movie. At my prompting, he dropped the normal-trucker routine for the first time that night, explaining in an undertone to me how the things they were mentioning weren't physically possible. He managed to relate it to known human physics - what I knew of them - which impressed me, but he went above and beyond my high school science courses. I inwardly mused that it was a good thing I knew he wasn't a normal trucker, because he'd just totally blown his cover - not that there weren't intelligent truckers out there, but generally someone who knew as much about advanced physics as he was letting on to would probably, y'know, have a job dealing with advanced physics. As it was, I didn't bother pressing him for how he knew all of this, though any normal girl might have.

After the movie, we both agreed it was time for me to get home, since it was late, and Magnus drove me there once I gave him instructions, even walking me up to the door of my apartment. I wasn't sure what I was expecting at the end of the night, but I was pleased with the hug and polite 'goodnight', as well as the usual 'I had a good time, and I hope you did too - we should do this again soon' type comments, complete with the silly grins that meant the comments were genuine and not just either of us being polite. I went up to my apartment with a grin on my face, and later, as I climbed into bed, I decided that I was going to treat the whole he's-an-Autobot thing like my arrival here - it didn't exist. I would pretend, for as long as it was possible, that he was exactly what he presented himself to be.

* * *

Having made that decision, it was surprisingly easy to stick with. I was perhaps a bit more understanding about certain things than I would have been if I hadn't known - always taking his truck around San Fran, for example - but that couldn't be helped. So I just enjoyed it as Magnus kept showing up at odd times, sometimes coming in only for coffee, sometimes making plans with me. The other staff found it both hilarious and weird, since they'd all heard about 'creepy trucker dude' from his first few visits. Eric just rolled his eyes and enjoyed reminding me about the time I had him take over waiting tables for me.

Our dates were fun, though Magnus could probably go down in history as the least pushy guy ever for a date. It was a month before he tried a kiss, but he seemed awkward enough at it that I suspected the delay was because it was a human thing, which the Cybertronians had no equivalent for. Anything more was probably similar, so I just let him lead. I was still trying not to think too hard on the whole 'is Ultra Magnus _really_ interested in me in a romantic sense?' question anyways - I tried one night and spent most of it just staring blankly up at the ceiling, thinking in circles. There wasn't much I could sort out regarding the reasons for his sudden interest in me without getting more information - information which would require revealing that I knew about him being an alien. So I just let it be. He could tell me when he wanted.

It was six months down the strange, but enjoyable, road when I walked into work to find Eric and Chelsey waiting for me, grins on their faces.

"Uhm - am I missing something?" I asked, wide-eyed. Chelsey grinning like that was never a good sign. Eric grinning like that was an even worse sign.

"Yes, the start to your vacation," Chelsey replied.

"The what?" I asked in surprise, looking over at Eric.

"Your boyfriend stopped by awhile back when you weren't in and asked if you had any time off. Since you didn't, and you haven't had any since you started working here, I told him to pick some time and I'd kick you out. He picked this weekend," Eric said. "And don't worry, I'll give you extra shifts to make up for the time lost."

"Oh, but -" I looked around the restaurant, confused.

"He's out back," Chelsey supplied.

"Now shoo. Go enjoy yourself," Eric made shooing motions with his hands, and shaking my head and laughing, I went. Magnus was indeed sitting around back, lounging in his driver's seat, and grinned when I came around and hopped in the passenger side.

"I hope you don't mind," he said first off.

"I hope you realize I have nothing _packed,_" I told him with equal good humour.

"Ah, to that you have two options - you can either use the trip for some shopping, or we can go pick something up from your place now," he said.

"Considering I don't want to wear my uniform for the rest of the day, and I'm flat broke in the clothes shopping department, I vote for the second option," I replied.

"You wouldn't have to pay," he commented, but pulled out and headed for my place anyways. I teased him about having unlimited money, and we had a slightly surreal conversation about how much a trucker earned vs. a waitress - surreal for me, at least, because I knew that wasn't how he made his money. At home, I packed quickly, and simply. Eric had said the weekend, and since it was Friday and I normally had Mondays off, I only had to pack for three more days. I was back in Magnus' truck, my bag tossed in the back, within half an hour, and we were on the highway less than an hour after that.

"So where are we headed?" I asked as we drove.

"I figured I'd show you where I hang out when I'm not in San Francisco, being creepy," Magnus teased. He, like Eric, still brought that up occasionally. I groaned.

"Oh come on, let it drop already!" I whined, only partly serious, and he laughed.

"In all seriousness, there's a nice town in northern California called Tranquility," Magnus responded. I forced myself to keep a straight face.

"So all this time you've been, what, 5 hours away?" I took a guess based on distances and what I knew of the location of Tranquility, looking amused, and Magnus chuckled.

"I do travel a bit, you know. But yes, when I'm not doing anything else, I'm 5 hours away," he said. We chatted a bit more, but eventually the conversation fell silent. I wasn't one for talking during long trips in a vehicle - I enjoyed the scenery too much, especially when I hadn't seen it before. And as a bonus, after a few minutes of me watching out the window in interest, Magnus turned on the radio to a classical station. California landscape plus classical music, and amazing company, made the trip already worthwhile. Magnus seemed pleased.

I didn't know what to expect when we got to Tranquility, so I tried not to be too surprised when he pulled up at an actual house.

"It's my brother, Orien's - his and his wife's," Magnus supplied as I shot him a curious look. "Come on, I'll introduce you." I found myself surprised as I was introduced to 'Ariel', who welcomed me to the house, and as I looked around, for the first time I wondered if I might be wrong about Magnus being an Autobot - the house looked _normal_, and lived in by Orien and Ariel. It was very strange and surreal, and I was a good deal more tense than I should have been when Ariel gave me the official tour. Apparently, Magnus and I were also staying there, Magnus in 'his' room, and me in the guest room - so long at I didn't mind. I was quick to assure Ariel I didn't.

After the tour of the house, Ariel made some comment about getting supper ready, and I made an offer to help, before Magnus pulled me out 'for a walk'. He seemed to think I needed rescuing or something, and as we headed out past the pink motorcycle in the rear driveway, I realized I did. I tried not to look around for a familiar big blue truck that was probably following us as we walked, just enjoying the occasional conversation with Magnus and trying to relax.

It wasn't so easy to do once we got back to the house, however. It felt surreal to have supper with three maybe-Autobots, and I readily took to Magnus' suggestion of showing me around Tranquility after supper. He seemed to know how tense I was, keeping the whole thing very casual, but around ten, he turned and gave me a serious look.

"If you're not comfortable at Orien's, I can get a hotel room. It's not a problem," he said.

"No, no - it's fine," I said. A hotel wouldn't make anything easier.

"Are you sure? You seem...tense," Magnus commented. I shrugged, digging for an excuse.

"It's just, y'know, weekend away...meet your family. Bit stressful at first. I'm sure I'll relax," I said, going with the tried-and-true. Magnus seemed a little startled at the excuse.

"Oh, of course, I should have thought - I'm sorry," he apologized. "I should have rented a hotel for the weekend."

"No, it's fine. It's nice to meet your family," I said with a smile - and it was. As weird and strange as it was to have dinner with who I assumed was Optimus Prime and Elita One, it was nice to meet some people who knew Magnus. For once, the in-jokes and teasing were in his direction, and not mine, like they were at the restaurant.

"As long as you're sure. I can rent a hotel room at any time," he offered seriously, then when I, laughing, reassured him again that it was fine, he started up his engine and headed back. Orien and Ariel were nowhere to be found when we were back - even their vehicles were gone - but I was feeling tired after the trip, so Magnus and I said goodnight, going to separate rooms. It was weird, that, but the goodnight kiss I got was also one of the more enthusiastic. I wondered if Orien and Ariel were going to disappear mysteriously every night, and if that was the point of the trip. I decided not to think too much on it, and went to bed.

Orien and Ariel turned out to be gone for the entire weekend - Magnus explained somewhat sheepishly the next morning that apparently they'd decided to sneak off on their own romantic weekend, since he was there to play host and watch over the house. I suspected there was a bit more to it than that, but I didn't question. I also didn't question the occasional flashy vehicles that stopped outside the house, nor the brief visit from Ariel's 'student', one Sam Witwicky - I spent it hiding behind a book (they actually had nicely stocked shelves, with a variety of subject matter) in the living room while Sam and Magnus talked quietly in the kitchen.

All in all, the weekend was enjoyable, if still a little weird and surreal. Magnus still didn't progress beyond some lusty goodnight kisses and snuggling - I was beginning to doubt that he ever would, and I was still trying to figure out if I was fine with that. I mean, sex would have been nice, but I wasn't one of those girls that would dump a guy over his performance, or lack thereof, in bed. So the total absence of sex wasn't too hard for me to accept, even if it was a big change from every guy I've ever dated.

In the end, when I was back in San Francisco on Monday, I had enjoyed the break, and was more relaxed and happy than normal when I returned to work.

Two days later, an official-looking man showed up and asked for Eric. The resulting meeting in his office produced a tight-lipped Eric telling me the gentleman wanted to speak with me. I went cautiously, aware that I may have a few more enemies than I knew about due to my relationship with Magnus. Still, it was in the middle of a restaurant in the middle of the day - there wasn't too much they could do. And Magnus had given me his phone number awhile back, and there was a phone in Eric's office - my cross-reality cell phone had stopped working awhile back.

"Miss Gorman, is it? Why don't you have a seat," the suit said as I entered Eric's office. He was in Eric's chair, putting him closer to the phone, but I didn't want to panic just yet, so I sat. "My name is Trevor Hammond. I'm with Citizenship and Immigration Services." I inwardly groaned - nothing suspicious and Autobot-related here, just my own shit coming back to bite me.

"A pleasure to meet you, Mister Hammond," I said outwardly, keeping my voice pleasant.

"I hope it's likewise," he said gravely. "I'm here because we've recently had some concerns raised about your citizenship. It seems your official information is not on file, and Mister Foster -" Eric, "- doesn't have it, either."

"In other words, you want to know if I'm an illegal immigrant," I said, stalling for time as I tried to think of an excuse. Those employers that would hire under the table usually didn't ask too many questions, so I hadn't had to come up with one before now, though I realized too late that I really should have.

"In a word, yes," Hammond replied, sitting forward and giving me a direct look. "You don't fit the profile, but the lack of information is damning." Fortunately, as he said that, I had a brain storm, remembering a problem one of my friends had had, before I ended up in this reality.

"Yes, well, if the guys who issue birth certificates weren't so difficult, I'd have information," I told him. "My mom gave birth at home, with a midwife. My dad was supposed to file the birth certificate, but he was a bit flakey and never did. It's been causing me trouble for _years_. I've been trying to get the government to admit I exist since I was sixteen."

"Ah, yes, we do run into this problem occasionally," Hammond seemed relieved. "How about I speed things up for you, then?" Reaching inside his jacket, Hammond pulled out a form, laying it on the desk and grabbing one of Eric's pens. "You fill this out, and I'll get your birth certificate all sorted out and get you a social security number so you don't have to see me again." I hesitated only briefly before taking the pen - I knew this was where it was going to fall apart. Still, I took the form and filled it out as truthfully as possible, though I changed the locations from Canada, where I'd lived pre-reality switch, to the States. I handed it back with a smile that was more relaxed than I felt, and Hammond said his goodbyes before heading out. Once he was gone, Eric looked at me and told me to go home - he'd already called in a replacement, not knowing how long I'd be (or, unsaid, if I'd get deported), and I wasn't looking that good either. I thanked him, made sure I did still have a job, and then headed home.

I was both unsurprised, and not, to find Magnus there. I wondered briefly if he'd been the one to send Hammond, but he had a smile for me, so he either he had no part in it, or the background check hadn't come in yet - in fact, it might not come in for weeks, I realized. The government was slow that way.

"Hey, this is a surprise," I said pleasantly, pushing it all from my mind as I gave Magnus a hug.

"Well, I stopped by the restaurant, but Eric said you'd gone home early," Magnus replied. "You OK?"

"Yeah, fine. Just tired and stressed," I told him, then motioned to my apartment building. "Want to come in?"

"Sure," he said, following me inside. "I'm sorry that the relaxation from our weekend has worn off so quickly."

"It's no big deal," I said, giving him a small smile. "Just getting used to the grind after time away, I guess."

"Ah, of course," Magnus said with a smile, and promptly did his best to distract me from work for the rest of the afternoon and evening. It worked, too, until Hammond showed up at my door. I knew he was coming before the doorbell rang, because Magnus suddenly tensed, drawing away from me. We'd been cuddling on the couch, making fun of a TV show, before that, so I knew something was up, and I wasn't surprised when I found Hammond was on the other end of the intercom. Even though I'd tried to convince myself that it could take weeks for the background check to come back, I'd suspected it wouldn't. I didn't bother asking Magnus to leave, since I figured at this point, he had to know something unusual was up, and would want to know the details anyways.

"So. You're back," I said as I invited Hammond to have a seat. I didn't bother asking how he'd known my address - it was one of the few true facts on the form I'd given him (at least in this reality).

"Yes, I am. Which, unfortunately for you, is not a good thing," Hammond said seriously, and tossed the form I'd filled out on the table. "None of your information checks out. Your 'parents' don't exist, neither does the 'midwife'. None of the schools you listed have evidence of you having attended them." I smiled sadly at the form - the midwife I'd put down was actually one of my aunts, who was a practicing family doctor. "So. Where are you from, Miss Gorman?" I couldn't help but chuckle at that, somewhat bitterly.

"Nowhere," I told him, and picked up the form. "Most of the information on here is correct - just not the places. But it wouldn't matter, because I've already looked everyone up with the right places and can't find them. So far as I can find out, I don't exist, and none of my family does, either."

"What are you talking about?" Hammond looked confused, and I didn't blame him. I glanced over at Magnus, who seemed to be listening just as intently as Hammond at this point. I figured, with him here, it was probably safe to come as clean as I dared.

"I was born and raised in Canada. My mother and father were, too, as well as their brothers and sisters. Their parents, my grandparents, were likewise from Canada, albeit from opposite sides. We were legal citizens, with all the appropriate paperwork, and I had jobs, even went to university. Technically I have a BA from the U of C, though you won't find any record of it," I said seriously. "Because one night, I went out drinking with friends in Calgary, and I woke up the next morning in the drunk tank here in San Francisco and discovered I didn't exist anymore. Every evidence of my presence, and that of my family and friends, had disappeared, official or not. No bank accounts, no facebook - my cell phone worked for about a month before getting cut off, and that's probably because I was piggybacking on someone else's account. I have no idea what happened, I've just been trying to work around it."

"You didn't think to contact the government about this?" Hammond asked incredulously.

"And tell you what, that my life doesn't exist anymore?" I asked with a snort. "As far as I knew, you guys could have been responsible, and it's a pretty unbelievable story, besides."

"I suppose," Hammond said. "I'm not sure I would believe you even a bit if not for how you defy the illegal immigrant profile. I'm still not sure that I -" Hammond was cut off by his phone ringing, and he excused himself to go answer it. Once he was gone, I turned to look at Magnus, who was watching me curiously.

"So, now you know my deep dark secret," I said with dry amusement. "Any thoughts, comments?"

"You are amazingly resilient," he said after a moment's thought.

"Thank you, I think," I said with a small frown.

"It's a compliment," Magnus reassured me, leaning over and giving me a peck on the cheek.

"So what about you, any deep dark secrets?" I asked teasingly, knowing the answer and curious to see what he'd say. He chuckled.

"If I do, you'll just have to wait until a government agency calls me on them," he replied just as teasingly.

"Ouch! That hurt," I said with a laugh. We joked back and forth a bit more before Hammond returned.

"Alright, I've got to go, but I'll look into your situation for you. For now, it's business as usual for you. I can't promise it'll stay that way, but I'll try my best," he said with a smile.

"Thanks for trying, at least," I said, shaking his hand before seeing him out. Once he was gone, I returned to the living room where Magnus was, frowning around me for a moment. "Is it paranoid to think that was a little too easy?"

"He did imply he had more important things to look into, and you're not exactly a threat to the country," Magnus commented with amusement.

"I suppose," I said, continuing to frown. Magnus got up from the couch and came over to me, cupping my face in his hands and making me look at him.

"It will be fine," he said soothingly, then kissed me lightly. Afterwards, he grinned. "If worst comes to worst and you get kicked out of the country, I'll just follow you, anyways. I'm creepy like that." I laughed and shoved him away.

"I'm _never_ going to live that down, am I?" I asked.

"Nope," he replied unrepentedly, returning to the couch, and I joined him as he grabbed the remote and flicked it back on.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** Hey guess what? ...yeah, they're still not mine.

**A/N: **At the suggestion of _Standout4Christ_, I've made some brief alterations to the first chapter of this story, with the intent of giving a bit of a physical description of Terry. The changes are listed below, for those who don't want to go back, re-read the chapter, and pick out the differences. Hopefully the additions willl help with any mental images of Terry you readers are trying to form. ^.^ Feel free to send me any other suggestions or comments, either through reviews or private message. Any feedback is appreciated!

* * *

_So instead, I discovered just why America has a problem with illegal immigrants. Getting a job under the table, with no ID, was surprisingly easy. So was finding a place to stay, once I had the cash in hand. From there, it was just a question of working my way up the quasi-legal job ladder. It was strange, and yet liberating, to be completely free from my old life. I found myself taking interesting turns in personality._

_I'd been a reclusive classics major who only went out for special occasions before - a library geek, an academic, more into my books than the traditional 'girly' things. After a year in this alternate reality, I only set foot in the library to use the internet - and infrequently for that. Instead, I spent most of my time either waiting tables at Eric's Family Restaurant and Gas Station, on the outskirts of San Francisco, or hanging out with the friends I'd acquired, either in bars, going to movies, shopping, or other outings. I actually went tanning regularly now, and found myself concerned with my hair and makeup, where before such things had been of no interest to me. I suppose it was my way of dealing - I couldn't go back to my old life, so I chose to just forget it, to become as different from it as possible._

_..._

_"Hi, my name's Terry, I'll be your server. What can I get for you this morning? Trucker's specials all around?" I asked, tucking my shoulder-length brown hair behind one ear as I surveyed the four men that were our first customers for the day. A more different group of people I couldn't imagine. Though their trucks were sitting out in the lot, only one had the stereotypical trucker look, complete with the baseball hat. Two of them had the classic sports team jock look down, and the last obviously had either some relation to the army or really liked the look._

_..._

_"Nice lone ranger entrance," Chelsey commented, startling me, and I jerked my head around to find her peering over my shoulder - quite the feat, considering I was six feet even, and she was well under that._

_"Thank you," the trucker said with a nod, bringing my attention back to him._

_

* * *

_

**- Chapter 3 -**

I didn't hear from Hammond again, so I just continued as normal. Eric was a bit terse around me for awhile, but eventually got back to his normal self, and Magnus kept stopping by. Summer ended, autumn passed, and winter rolled around. Magnus apparently took my half-hearted complaints about the green of the season to heart though - it was nice to be able to comment on the differences between San Francisco and my native Calgary to him, even if he didn't get most of them - because he asked me if I wanted to go somewhere for Christmas. Someplace in the mountains, say, where there was snow. I, of course, said yes.

I literally had to beg Eric for the time off, but I managed to get a week and a half off, from the 22nd to the 2nd. I was unbelievably happy when Magnus picked me up and we headed out, me practically bouncing in the seat. Magnus was entertained, accusing me of being 2 years old as I squeed over the first appearance of snow - I ignored him and kept on in blissful happiness, choosing not to make a pointed comment about him being an old fart.

Our destination, at the end, was a cabin at a resort - quite probably very expensive, and containing only one bedroom. I was amused by this, especially when mentioning it made Magnus look extremely uncomfortable before changing the topic. I let him be on it, though I was curious as to how sleeping arrangements would work - I still wasn't sure if the human I was seeing was a holoform or a robotic avatar or what, but I couldn't help but wonder if there was another reason he'd slept apart from me all this time, besides my assumption of perceived organic expectations that he wasn't willing, or perhaps able, to investigate.

Once we were settled, we had to go get some food for the cupboards and fridge - I refused to let Magnus order in every night, though he said he was perfectly willing and able. We ended up coming back with a fair bit, as well as a pre-cooked chicken and fries for supper. After eating, we made a fire and snuggled as we chatted, me still giddy over the snow. When it came time to go to bed, I decided to have pity on Magnus, though.

"I'm gonna go to bed," I said with a yawn. "As long as you're fine staying up to make sure the fire dies by yourself?"

"I'll be fine," he said, seeming relieved at the easy out. "You go to bed, you're tired from the trip."

"K, good night then," I said with a smile, and heading to the bedroom. I don't think he joined me that night - I woke to him cooking breakfast in the kitchen. Bacon and eggs, with toast. I don't know why I was surprised that he could cook, but I was, and pleasantly so. The food was delicious.

Over breakfast we debated what to do that day, and by the end I had won in my demands for a Christmas tree and Christmas present shopping. This of course brought up the curious question of 'what do you buy a Autobot for Christmas?' Fortunately, my tradition of buying absolutely nothing useful served me well - I found an amusing little bobble head of Thor for his dash, along with a book about Star Trek physics and how they were slowly becoming reality. I figured he wouldn't get the first (since it was in direct relation to my greatly-amused observation about how 'Transformers: Animated' Ultra Magnus was robot Thor - my brother had staunchly denied it, and I'd had great fun teasing him about it), but the second would probably entertain him if he hadn't already read it, and maybe help if I dragged him to anymore SciFi. I also bought him a scarf, because it entertained me, and it was blue and white. I figured it fit my 'nothing useful' tradition, since he had no need for it.

Of course, just shopping for him wasn't enough, and I dragged him out the next day to help me shop for my friends and co-workers in San Francisco. He was good-natured about it, even coming up with a few good ideas himself, and buying the occasional present himself for friends. I continued to give Magnus excuses to stay up past when I went to bed, so I don't think he ever actually used the bed, except on Christmas Eve, when he came to snuggle. He was up in the morning before me, making breakfast, so I didn't know long he'd stayed, but it had been nice.

He enjoyed his presents the next day, though as anticipated, he seemed confused about the bobble-head. The book he did actually seem interested in, and the scarf he immediately put on, amusing me. He'd gotten me a few things as well - a book about classic Greek literature, which he claimed was because I seemed interested in the subject. I was surprised he'd caught it, since I'd tried to stay away from the classics, still trying to avoid my old life. The book was a little simplistic for someone with a BA in classics, but it was appreciated, an unexpectedly welcome reminder of my past. Like a good boyfriend, he also got me a rather nice selection of chocolate, which I started consuming as soon as I opened them. He also passed on a gift from 'Orien' and 'Ariel' - a DVD of a movie Magnus and I had gone to see awhile back, and had enjoyed.

New Years Eve we went to a party the resort was holding, counting down with everyone else before heading home, me lightly buzzed from the champagne. I dragged Magnus to bed with me that night, though for nothing more than some intense kisses before falling asleep. He was again up before me to the next morning, making breakfast, which he served to me in bed.

"It's hard to think this vacation is almost over," I said as I finished, Magnus nabbing a last grape from the fruit salad he'd made before moving the breakfast tray off the bed.

"I hope that's because you've been enjoying yourself," Magnus said as he leaned back against the bed.

"No, I absolutely loathed every moment," I told him with happy sarcasm as I snuggled up to him.

"Glad to hear it," Magnus said with a chuckle. There was a long pause. "Terry..." he trailed off, and I looked up at him, finding an odd expression on him face.

"What's up?" I asked him curiously. He glanced away, out the window.

"I - there's something I wanted to speak with you about," he sounded uncomfortable, and I frowned slightly.

"Is it bad?" I asked.

"It could be," he said hesitantly, and I looked at him for a moment, wondering suddenly if this was where he told me he was an alien. "It's important that I speak with you about it, however."

"Well, I'm here, and listening," I told him, as soothingly as I could, though inwardly I was trying to kick my mind into high gear, trying to figure out the best way to handle this.

"Could we go outside?" the request would have been random if I didn't know what to expect.

"If it helps, sure," I said with a small smile, and crawled out of bed to get dressed as Magnus headed out ahead of me. After I bundled up, I followed him out, finding him standing in the snow next to 'his truck' in his jeans and t-shirt, not even having bothering with socks or shoes. This was definitely it. "What did you want to talk about, Magnus?" I asked as I headed for him.

"Stop," he said suddenly without looking at me, and I instinctively froze in place. He turned to look at me, his expression uncertain. "Sorry, I...need some space for this. Terry, I'm not what I appear to be." He hesitated only a moment longer before his human self blinked out of existence - answering my question of hologram versus android avatar - and then he transformed.

* * *

It was, perhaps, a slightly longer than normal transformation. It certainly seemed to take longer than Optimus had in the movies, but I watched passively, trying not to let my fascination show as I watched his pieces shift and rearrange. Once the transformation had stopped, he shook himself slightly, sprinkling the area around him, including me, with melted snow. I ducked my head and waited for the shower to stop before looking back up at him, finding that he'd crouched down, so he wasn't towering above me anymore. There was silence for a moment, as I observed him, and he observed me.

"You're not surprised." He seemed to be the surprised one, ironically.

"No, I'm not," I told him, figuring if he was telling me the truth, it was time I told him the whole truth.

"Why not?" he asked, frowning. His face, while made of metal plates, was similar to his human one, and surprisingly easy to read.

"I've known who you were since you told me your name. Or, well, once you told me your name and then Optimus, Ratchet, and Ironhide showed up," I told him.

"You were at Mission City," he said after a pause, seeming tense.

"Never been there in my life," I told him truthfully.

"Then how...?" he frowned again.

"You know how I told Hammond about how I got drunk one night in Calgary and woke up the next morning in San Francisco and didn't exist?" I asked, and Magnus nodded, a curiously human-seeming gesture. "My friends and family and I weren't the only things that didn't exist anymore. Some movies suddenly didn't exist, and in their place, there were some curious news stories that corresponded frighteningly well to the events of the missing movies. Those movies? Were called _Transformers_. And they were about the Autobot's battles on earth against their enemies, the Decepticons." Magnus stared down at me for a long moment.

"I'd ask you why you didn't say something, but I suspect I'd have the question tossed back in my face," he said slowly, finally.

"You would," I said with a nod. "I decided pretty early on that I'd let you tell me when you were ready, though I almost blew it that first day. It was so very tempting to snap back at Ironhide with a far too pointed comment." Magnus smiled slightly. "By the way, why doesn't he like me?"

"He doesn't not like you, specifically. He doesn't like the fact that I like you, a human," Magnus replied.

"Ah, ok," I said with a nod, and Magnus frowned once again.

"You know a lot more than just who and what I am, don't you?" he said.

"I'd like to think I do, though I have no idea how correct it all is," I said with a shrug.

"I think this conversation will be a lot longer than I expected," Magnus said as he straightened. Then he collapsed into transformation again, going much quicker this time, and when he was a truck again, he popped open a door. The hologram didn't appear again, and the driver's door was the one that popped open, so I climbed in. Magnus' engine didn't start, but there was heat inside, which I was suddenly grateful for, realizing how cold it had been outside.

"I thought this would be more comfortable." Magnus' voice came from the stereo, and I nodded towards it.

"Probably. Questions though - where do I aim my comments, and can you see me like this?" I asked.

"Anywhere and yes." Magnus replied with a chuckle. "Most humans find it easiest to address the stereo."

"I may fall back on that," I told him, though I didn't specifically aim the comment to the stereo. "So. Where do we start?"

"What do you know?" Magnus asked curiously. After I laughingly told him that was a pretty broad topic, he started asking more specific questions, and I returned them in kind. I found it surprising, how much of what I knew was accurate - and he was surprised by just how _much_ I knew. He wasn't really shocked until I asked about Primus, though, at which point he explained that, to prevent problems, Optimus had essentially ordered the Autobots not to mention their god if they could help it.

"That's a rough order," I commented, making a face.

"He wasn't too pleased at having to make it, but considering how upset humans get about religion, he figured it was best just to avoid the subject," Magnus replied.

"Probably a wise idea. Though I'd love to see a face off between some of the religious nut-job senators and an Autobot," I said with amusement.

"We wouldn't," Magnus said dryly, and I laughed and conceded the point, promising I wouldn't mention Primus to anyone else, and we continued with our Q&A. Lunch eventually brought an end to the questions, and only then did Magnus' hologram make a re-appearance, helping me make lunch, though he didn't have any.

"How did you eat, anyways?" I asked.

"It's easy enough to simulate with a few extra force fields - it's just messy to dispose of later," Magnus answered with a shrug, and I paused for a moment, thinking that through.

"Yeah, ok, ew," I said, and Magnus chuckled as I continued eating. After lunch, when we'd cleaned up, Magnus essentially dragged me down onto the couch so we could snuggle, which brought to my mind the most important question I had.

"So, to repeat myself from our first date...you show up and stare at me creepily, then a few months later, ask me out. Where did that come from?" I asked, watching him curiously as I spoke. He looked down at me with a faint smile.

"What, all that knowledge you have doesn't include that a Cybertronian could like a Human?" he asked, and I thought about it for a moment.

"No," I admitted finally. "The idea is nice, but I would think there would be...compatibility issues." Magnus chuckled.

"Physical ones, yes, but that matters very little to us Cybertronians," he said. "I'm sure you're aware of the size variance among our own species - now try to imagine a culture maintaining any sort of physical compatibility taboos with that."

"Good point," I replied.

"Besides that..." Magnus trailed off, then cleared his throat. "You'd probably be better off asking Ratchet." I had a feeling that wasn't what he was going to say, but didn't question him on it. We spent most of the rest of the day talking, then at night, he actually followed me to the bedroom, which led to questions about what he actually did at night, and subsequent teasing from me about icky organic mating rituals. He teased right back about kinky robot sex, a phrase he'd apparently picked up from Mikaela Banes, before bidding me goodnight and disappearing.

The next morning, the last day of our vacation, I packed up quickly, and we hit the road. Magnus actually asked me to take the driver's seat, letting his hologram rest.

"It's not like you'll get pulled over anyways," he commented.

"Oh?" I asked.

"You haven't noticed the diplomatic plates? After an entire year?" he asked with amusement as we headed off.

"Honestly, no," I said with a laugh. "I was distracted by other things."

"Well, I assure you, even if we are pulled over, I know a few people in high places. I did get Hammond off your back, after all." Magnus sounded smug at that.

"That was you? What, was that you phoning him or something?" I asked with amusement.

"No, actually, that was his boss, who I'd just gotten off the phone with," Magnus said with a snicker. "Though, I suppose it was the least I could do - we found out later that you were only brought to the government's attention because they, as usual, have been keeping an eye on us, and tried to do a background check on you."

"And that didn't turn out so well," I said with a laugh.

"No, not really," Magnus agreed. It was funny, how much easier it was to talk to each other now - not that we had a problem before, but that invisible wall had come down.

We were almost back to San Francisco when a familiar yellow Camaro suddenly passed us, horn blaring, then started weaving back and forth in front of Magnus. Magnus staunchly ignored it, continuing with our conversation, until finally I gave in.

"OK, what's up with Bumblebee?" I asked with amusement as Magnus took a turn and Bumblebee had to do some fancy maneuvering to catch up.

"Check the mirrors," Magnus offered, and I did.

"OK, so what's up with Bumblebee ahead and Optimus Prime riding your tail?" I asked, even more curious now.

"I've had my communications blocked since yesterday. They knew I was going to tell you, but I haven't spoken to them yet to tell them the outcome, and my dear brother is a bit impatient. Also bored apparently, since Elita is off-planet."

"You've been ignoring them? Why?" I asked with a chuckle.

"I'm avoiding having to explain, for one thing. And for another I figured that I might deserve to enjoy the last day of my vacation with you in solitude, instead of having them pestering me to know if I'd told you yet." The last part was said quite pointedly, and considering how Bumblebee abruptly straightened out ahead of us, then dropped back, I figured he'd heard. Both Bumblebee and Optimus stayed behind us, however.

"Are they going to follow us all the way back to my place?" I asked uncertainly.

"...Likely," Magnus said with a sigh. "As I said, my brother is bored. It rarely happens, but he's a pest when it does." A loud truck horn suddenly sounded from right behind us, startling me, and I cursed.

"I take it they can hear us," I said.

"A bit. They're trying to eavesdrop, but all they can really get is bits and pieces of me," Magnus replied.

"Ah. Is there any way we could ditch them?" I asked.

"Probably not, though they should follow me once we get to your place," Magnus said with a sigh.

As it turned out, they didn't. Somehow or another, we all ended up in my living room, Optimus apparently determined to tell every embarrassing story he could about Magnus, who was returning the favour, while Bee put in his own commentary, and I just sat and listened with amusement.

"OK, I'm going to bed," I said eventually, my cheeks hurting from grinning so much. It was around two in the morning. "You three clear out."

"Yes ma'am!" Bee said cheerily, and I was amused at how he practically dragged Optimus out of my apartment, leaving just Magnus and I.

"Aaaand...now he's harassing me over the communications channel. Primus, he's bored silly," Magnus said with a groan about thirty seconds after the door had shut behind Bee and Optimus.

"You'd better go keep him entertained," I said, giving Magnus a peck on the lips. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Terry," he said, pulling me back in for a deeper kiss before heading out the door. I smiled faintly before heading to bed.


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** Not mine, nope.

**A/N: **Aaaaand...action! Enjoy the chapter, please review, and keep in mind that constructive criticism is appreciated! ^.^

**- Chapter 4 -**

The other waitresses, naturally, were digging for juicy gossip about my trip as soon as I was back at work. I managed to divert them for a bit with presents, but invariably their attention returned to the trip, and I dodged the questions with laughter and innuendo, letting them reach their own conclusions. I'm fairly sure they decided that Magnus and I were sleeping together (actually, they'd probably decided that months ago, they were just being more obvious about the comments now), and that we were one step away from engaged - not that I cared what they ended up thinking. Dan did comment that I seemed different after my vacation, and I realized with some surprise that I was starting to drift back to the way I'd acted before coming to this reality. I wasn't such a party animal, and I'd spent what was left of my Christmas bonus on books and a bookshelf, starting to build myself a library again. It was nice, to have a shelf full of the classics that I could pull out and read at any time. Magnus's gift was the first on the shelf, and even if it was a bit simple for someone with my education, I read it several times, just enjoying the fact that it was a gift from Magnus.

Things couldn't last, though. As nice as it was, there was still the fact that the Autobots were in a war, and had enemies. It was only due to my own extraordinary knowledge that I managed to dodge the (only partially literal) bullet - a group of five rougher looking guys had taken a seat in the restaurant, and when I went to serve them, I happened to notice that several of them were wearing the Decepticon symbol. Glancing outside as I went to place their orders, it wasn't hard to spot the vehicles they'd come in - big and menacing, they were parked in a clump well away from any other vehicle, one for each of the guys at the table. I handed Dan their order as calmly as I could, then ducked into Eric's office, glad he wasn't there as I grabbed his phone and dialed the number Magnus had given me.

_"Terry, this is a pleasant surprise,"_ Magnus picked up, sounding distinctly happy - I didn't like talking on the phone, so I didn't call him often.

"Not really. There's five vehicles in the parking lot practically oozing menace, and five guys wearing Decepticon symbols sitting in the middle of the restaurant," I said dryly. Magnus cursed.

_"What do they look like?" _he asked, and I knew he wasn't asking about the guys in the restaurant.

"Optimus and Ironhide's love child, a couple sports cars in red and black, one in yellow, and a purple Lamborghini," I replied. "_Please_ tell me I didn't just describe Menasor's component parts."

_"I wish I could,"_ Magnus said with a grimace._ "Have they said anything?"_

"Besides their orders? No," I replied.

_"Good. Don't say anything to them unless you have to, and don't leave the restaurant. I'll be there within an hour," _he said.

"Bring friends?" I suggested.

_"I will,"_ Magnus replied reassuringly. _"Now go back to work. This may turn out to be nothing."_

"Right," I said with a snort, but said goodbye to him and went back to work.

"Hey Bertha - you forgot your name tag today," Chelsey commented as I left Eric's office, and I glanced up in surprise.

"Huh?" I asked, then glanced down at my uniform, only now realizing that I was missing my nametag.

"Those rowdy guys wanted to know your name, since you didn't have a name tag," Chelsey said, nodding to the table with the Stunticons, then she grinned. "I told them it was Bertha." I laughed - I'd been so caught up in them being Decepticons that I hadn't even introduced myself like I normally did, even when I had my nametag. And Chelsey had just conveniently given them a different name for me. Grinning at that, I went back to work, feeling a bit more confident when I showed up with the Stunticons' drinks, and later their food. Once I set the last plate down, though, one of them caught me by the arm, and I had to fight down the urge to scream.

"Hey, we're looking for an old friend of ours that's supposed to work here. Her name's Terry. Know her?" the Decepticon asked pleasantly enough.

"Terry?" I pretended to think. "I think she works nights - I don't see her much. If you have a number, I can pass it on to her to get in touch."

"Naw, you don't need to go to all that trouble, just let us know when she works next and we'll come back then," he replied.

"Well, we're not really supposed to do that..." I said with a frown. "What are your names?" There was a slight hesitation.

"I'm Orien," the biggest spoke up, seeming vastly amused. I didn't miss the surreptitious glances the others sent his way, and was glad for them, since it prevented them from noticing my brief incredulous look before I slipped back into character.

"Oh, I've heard her mention you before," I said, smiling brightly. "Her boyfriend's brother, right?"

"Right," the Decepticon was smirking, clearly impressed with his own cleverness. "I figured I'd stop in and say 'hi' on my way through."

"Let me just go check the schedule, then," I said helpfully, and that seemed to satisfy them, as my arm was released. I headed calmly to the back, neatened up a few things, then grabbed a few orders and headed back out. I dropped off the orders before heading back to the Decepticons's table, smiling.

"You're in luck, seems like she has an early shift today - she'll be here in two hours, at five. You can wait if you like," I told them pleasantly, silently praying that Magnus only took the hour he'd said he would.

"Of course we will," the Decepticon claiming to be Optimus said, looking quite pleased.

"Well then, enjoy your meals, and let me know if you need anything while you wait," I told them. They assured me they would - though I noticed none of them had touched their food yet - and I went back to serving the other customers. I was careful to introduce myself as Bertha to anyone who came in, shushing a couple regulars and winking conspiratorially, writing them notes to explain I was playing a joke on somebody. It was actually quite entertaining, despite the menacing presence of the Decepticons in the restaurant. Chelsey and Dan were vastly amused, of course.

I wasn't the only one that noticed the sudden stillness of the center table when a familiar blue truck entered the lot, however, closely following by another big blue truck with flames, a black pickup, and two corvettes in silver and gold. I tensed as I watched them, wondering what they would do - I was preparing myself, mentally, to either run for my life, or get everyone else to safety. In the end, neither was necessary, as the five Decepticons suddenly moved as one, standing from their chairs and hurrying out - not paying their bill, either, though I'd expected that. They returned to their vehicles quickly, and tore out of the parking lot, the two corvettes taking off after them. The three trucks, however, came to a stop, their drivers hopping out and entering the restaurant, obviously still on guard, with Optimus leading the way. They surveyed the restaurant once, then Optimus and Ironhide took a seat at the table closest to the kitchen, while Magnus, seeing me, stepped around the counter and tugged me into the back. Dan looked over in amusement.

"Careful Terry doesn't catch you with Bertha there, Magnus!" he said lightly, and Magnus gave him a confused look.

"No name tag," I supplied dryly. "I've been Bertha since those guys walked in."

"A fortunate coincidence," Magnus said grimly, glancing around. Spotting Eric's office, he pulled me in there, shutting the door on Dan's friendly warning about hanky-panky in the boss' office. "They were looking for you," he said without preamble once the door was closed.

"Yeah, I know, they asked," I said, then rolled my eyes. "I tried to brush them off, but one of them decided to pretend he was Optimus, so I figured I'd throw them a bone. I told them 'Terry' would be in to work at 5."

"Risky, but perhaps safer than anything else you could have done," Magnus said with a frown. "They'll be back, though. Now that they've confirmed that you work here, they'll be waiting for an opportunity. Megatron has apparently given the Stunticons an open-ended order to hunt down any of our human allies here on Earth. Most of the others are safe, but..."

"I live way out in the middle of nowhere, relatively speaking," I finished for him.

"Precisely," Magnus said with a sigh.

"Me quitting and moving is going to come in here at some point, isn't it?" I said thoughtfully, and Magnus grimaced.

"I don't want to force you to do that," he said. "This situation is my fault, after all."

"Bullshit," I told him dismissively. "Besides, I don't particularly mind. San Francisco is nice, but it's not home. I'd rather be alive than cling to a crappy apartment and a dead-end job." I paused. "No pun intended, there." Magnus chuckled slightly.

"I appreciate your willingness to survive, but I'll give you some time to think about it, just to be sure," he said.

"Please tell me you're not implying leaving me here with the Stunticons kicking around," I asked in alarm.

"No, we'll be staying here until they leaving the area, and then Optimus will decide on a more permanent guard - not me, unfortunately, as I have duties elsewhere," Magnus said regretfully.

"Oooor...I could just quit, break my lease, and go with you guys," I replied with amusement.

"You're supposed to be thinking about it, not making a decision right now," Magnus said sternly.

"I am thinking about it - I'm trying to figure out which problem, precisely, I should use as an excuse to break my lease! There's so very many - I feel like a kid in a candy store!" I told Magnus cheerfully, and he sighed. Whatever he would have said next was halted by a knock on the door, followed by it opening slightly.

"I hope to god you're decent, Terry, because we're just a little busy out here, so there's not really any time for some snogging with your boyfriend," Chelsey said through the crack of the door, and I laughed.

"I'll be out right away, Chelsey," I said.

"Good. I'm leaving Magnus's friends for you," she said, and the door closed.

"I'll think about it, Magnus, but honestly, my survival instinct has already made the decision for me. If I had family here I might need more time, but they don't exist," I told him with a shrug. Magnus sighed, pulling me into a hug and giving me a peck on the cheek.

"Just make sure you want to go before you decide," he said, releasing me.

"You make it sound like I won't ever be able to come back," I teased. Magnus shifted uncomfortably. "We'll talk later," I told him dryly, and he looked grateful to be let off the hook. We headed out of Eric's office, Magnus heading over to the table with Optimus and Ironhide while I went back to my tables. For show, I got the three Autobots drinks - coffee for Magnus, tea for Optimus, and a chocolate milk for Ironhide, because he was glaring at me. I didn't stick around to chat with them, however, as we had actually gotten busy - the pre-supper rush - and I was running around quite a bit. The two corvettes - I assumed they were Sideswipe and Sunstreaker - showed up after an hour, and in the midst of the rush, I got them some tea, as well, though they seemed sullen about that - it had honestly been the first thing I'd had on hand when I'd seen them enter.

Fortunately, shortly after that, Marie, the evening waitress for tonight, arrived, and things got easier, so that when I was finally off at six, I could finish my last few tables and leave immediately - or, as it happened, change in the back, then go join the table of five Autobots, who were carrying on a casual conversation about, of all things, baseball. I suspected they were having a more serious conversation over their comm systems.

"Hello gentlemen," I said as I walked up. "Sticking around for awhile, or are you ready to leave?"

"We're ready to leave whenever you are, Terry," Optimus said pleasantly.

"Then may I suggest we blow this popsicle stand? I've seen enough of it for one day," I replied, and with that, they rose and we left, Sideswipe actually paying for the drinks, since none of the others had brought any money in with them.

"Didn't think to grab any when there were Decepticons sitting in the middle of the restaurant," Magnus said dryly as we left.

"I don't blame you at all," I replied with a chuckle. Everyone went to their own vehicles, of course, while I followed Magnus. Climbing in, Magnus motioned for me to take the driver's seat while he went into the back of his cab. He pull the curtain there, and I know his holoform disappeared, as his engine started up and we were heading out, following Optimus.

"The problem we have is this," Magnus said as we drove. "In every other case, with our human allies, their guardians have been able to stay nearby. With my duties, I won't be able to stay in one place very much, and, as you said, San Francisco is relatively out of the way for us. We could assign someone else, but they wouldn't have ready backup, so it would be dangerous. If you move, we could set up a better situation, but unfortunately, though I can get government agencies off your back, I can't get you ID - we wouldn't be able to set up our usual security measures for you, which would leave you in a similarly unstable and unsafe situation, even if you'd be closer."

"Understandable. What are the options, then?" I asked.

"You can move, as I just mentioned. It isn't ideal, but you would be able to maintain your current way of life. You could also move to the NEST base as a civilian consultant, and accompany me as my 'assistant' - it would keep you closer at hand, but has the potential of more serious government inquiries about you," Magnus said.

"Why do I get the feeling there's a third option you don't want to mention?" I asked curiously.

"The UN gave us permission, a few years ago, to set up a base on Ganymede, one of Jupiter's moons," Magnus said slowly. "It's still being constructed, but the main sections are built, and have been designed with humans in mind. Major Lennox has already been up to see it, and found the experience quite enjoyable, so I'm told."

"So my options are stay here and probably get killed, move and maybe get killed, go hang with the military and get asked pointed questions, or...go to Jupiter," I said, to clarify.

"And be separated from the rest of your species and most of the casual comforts of your home planet, yes," Magnus elaborated. I considered for a moment.

"Yeah, no, I don't think I have the willpower in me to refuse the Jupiter option. You're going to have to come up with worse reasons against it or I am _so_ taking it," I said finally, giggling.

"Really?" Magnus seemed surprised.

"Magnus, you and yours may be attached to your planet, but honestly, even _this_ isn't _my_ planet, and humans are known for having a strong sense of wanderlust and adventure, or so we like to think. And you're talking to a girl whose dad was a complete and total Trekkie," I said dryly. "So - when do I leave?"

"How soon can you pack?" Magnus replied dryly.

"Depends how much help I get," I told him pleasantly. There was a long pause.

"Fine, _you_ talk to her!" Magnus' sudden exclamation was startling after the silence.

"Who am I talking to now?" I asked in surprise.

"Optimus," Magnus replied shortly.

_"My apologies, Terry, I just want to be sure that you're aware of the entire situation,"_ Optimus said politely.

"Unless there is some glaring downside to going to Jupiter that Magnus has neglected to mention, I'm fully aware, Optimus," I told him. Optimus, it seemed, was less convinced, and I spent the rest of the ride back to my apartment trying to convince him. I was still debating it with him as Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, and Magnus helped me pack. Ironhide was 'standing guard' outside - I think he just didn't want to help because he didn't like me.

With the four of us working, packing went surprisingly fast - especially since I didn't have that much stuff - and soon enough I was saying goodnight to Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, and Optimus - who had finally, reluctantly, accepted than maybe I did know what I was doing. Magnus decided to stay, joining me in bed for some cuddling and talk about the Jupiter base. It turned out he spent a fair amount of time there - Optimus had put him in charge of handling new Autobot arrivals, making sure they were fully briefed before they set foot on Earth and such. The reason he ended up on Earth at all, in fact, was that he briefed the NEST commanders personally about all the new arrivals, giving them the pertinent information before figuring out with them which Autobots should become active parts of the NEST team, and which should stay on Ganymede.

"I'm surprised Sunstreaker got to Earth, then," I commented.

"He almost didn't," Magnus admitted. "However, General Hayes realized that it would seem a bit staged if we go public and we have a dream team of 'perfect' Autobots. He and the other commanders actually picked Sunstreaker in particular, after that, because they figured that despite his record, him being a twin would help the public relate. Or at least result in evil twin/good twin jokes." Magnus chuckled. "They're still debating letting a few more of the...rougher Autobots planetside. It's fortunate that they gave us permission for the Ganymede base, so they actually can pick and choose. We've got some teams coming in lately that have been out on their own for awhile." Magnus fell abruptly silent at that, and I frowned, things suddenly clicking for me.

"That's why you're reluctant for me to go to Ganymede, aren't you?' I said. "You're worried about more Autobots having reactions like Ironhide, but not being as passive about it." Magnus grimaced.

"Yes," he admitted. "Optimus doesn't want to believe that Autobots would behave that way, but I know he's concerned, as well."

"What exactly is Ironhide's objection, anyways? I mean, I know the basics...but what are the specifics?" I asked curiously.

"He..." Magnus paused. "Do you know anything about Nebulos?"

"It was a planet you guys had close relations with before," I replied, then hesitated before continuing. "Didn't it get destroyed by Decepticons?"

"It did," Magnus said with a nod. "We lost a lot of Autobots that day, as well - and not because they were on Nebulos. They had friends, family, loved ones on the planet - some of them had mates. They died from the grief of their loss. Ironhide looks at Earth, as will many other Autobots, and sees another Nebulos. A tragedy waiting to happen. He sees you and I as the first step down a familiar, and painful, path."

"I suppose the fact that a human managed to kill Megatron, even if he came back, doesn't count for anything?" I mused.

"Perhaps if he'd stayed dead," Magnus said with a shrug. "Honestly, I think that's the only reason Ironhide isn't objecting as vocally as he normally would."

"Understandable, I suppose," I replied. "How big a problem might these objecting Autobots be?"

"Considering you'll be on the base where everyone who isn't cleared for duty on Earth, either for that reason or others, will be staying?" Magnus said, pausing for a moment. "You'll probably have a hard time finding anyone other than me to talk to."

"Ah," I said.

"You can still change your mind if you want to," Magnus offered. "Optimus hasn't even contacted Ganymede - I think he's counting on talking you out of it tomorrow morning."

"I'll think on it, but I suspect I'll still go. It's still better than my options here, as far as I'm concerned," I said with a shrug. The conversation turned elsewhere, and we talked for awhile longer before I eventually drifted off to sleep.

* * *

It was early the next morning when Magnus woke me up, practically throwing clothes at me as he hurried around, finishing packing the last few things.

"What's going on?" I asked in surprise.

"The Stunticons took a shot at the restaurant. The others went to deal with them, but Motormaster is MIA. We think he's heading here," Magnus said, and I started scrambling into my clothes as Magnus carted the last few things out, tossing them into his cab. I followed close behind him, jumping into the drivers seat without being asked. Magnus barely got him hologram out of sight before flipping it off and roaring out of the parking lot - waking everyone on the block, I was sure.

"Where to?" I asked as we drove.

"We're going to rendezvous with the others outside of the city, then make a run to the nearest NEST base. From there, we'll see about transport to Ganymede," Magnus said. I nodded, and stayed quiet as he drove, guessing that he probably needed to concentrate. I thought I saw Motormaster behind us once, but he was gone just as quickly, and then we met up with Optimus and the others. We made our way out of San Francisco, and headed north. It was a few hours later when we turned off the main highways, and then another half an hour of less-than-wonderful roads and we arrived at a military base. The gate guards didn't even ask who I was, waving all of us through.

Of course, once we got inside and I hopped out, and the Autobots transformed, someone made a comment on my presence. I was amused by who did so.

"Awww, don't tell me you picked up another civilian stray! No offense," Epps complained as he saw me. "What is it with you guys? I swear every time you go out on a mission by yourselves, you come back with some civilian that you _had _to tell."

"In their defense, I already knew," I said cheerfully. "Also, hi, I'm Terry, nice to meet you." Epps looked at me in surprise.

"Oooooh, you're _Terry_," he said. "That explains why they showed up and tore outta here like bats outta hell."

"You've heard of me?" I asked, bemused, as I glanced up at Magnus. Epps glanced up at Magnus as well.

"Er - yeah," he seemed suddenly uncomfortable.

I grinned, then leaned in and said conspiratorially, "They don't have cooties, you know." Epps glared at me, and I chuckled before wandering over to Magnus, who had probably been listening in, but was involved in a rapid-fire Cybertronian conversation with Optimus. It didn't seem to be going too well, because he looked frustrated. Eventually, he turned to look down at me.

"The Ganymede base is not viable," he said, sounding regretful. "The Decepticons hit it, life support for humans is out."

"NEST base it is," I said with a frown. Magnus' response was cut off by the screech of tires, followed by a transformation as another Autobot arrived, beginning to chatter in Cybertronian as soon as they were transformed. The others replied, and they were once again engaged in their conversation, ignoring the humans.

"They do that often?" I asked, wandering back to Epps.

"Only recently," he said with a frown. "They've been acting weird for the last few months, honestly. We figured it was you, at first - you shoulda seen the fight Magnus and Ironhide got into awhile back. It was the only reason we humans even found out about you. But I'm thinking it's something more."

"Magnus and Ironhide got into a fight? Like, physical?" I asked in surprise, and Epps nodded. "Damn. And I thought Ironhide was being _passive_ about his dislike of me." Epps snickered slightly, before turning a concerned look back to the Autobots. We watched in silence as the Autobots seemed to get more and more agitated, until finally they broke up, none of them looking happy. Magnus came over to me as the others scattered in other directions.

"There have been some developments. Epps, I apologize, but we will need you to pass on to your government that we will be moving quickly, and won't be able to brief them until later. Also, they may want to divert civilian attention away from the moon," Magnus said.

"The moon? I thought you guys were staying offa there," Epps said with a frown.

"We would if we could - unfortunately, it seems that our predecessors were not so concerned about altering Earth's moon," Magnus said, then held out a hand to me. "Would you mind being carried, Terry? I need to move quickly, and not in my alt form."

"Just don't drop me," I said as I climbed on. "And promise me you'll explain at some point."

"I will," Magnus said, the said goodbye to Epps before moving away. There were apparently quite a few Autobots on this particular NEST base, as well as some distinctly Cybertronian equipment, and Magnus seemed to have to go see it all. Optimus and the others had completely disappeared, and I realized why less than an hour later, when Magnus walked into an empty hanger, only to have Ironhide appear out of thin air. I started badly, and Ironhide smirked.

"Goddammit, warn a girl, Magnus," I cursed.

"Apologies. Space bridges are quite obvious to Cybertronians, I tend to forget they're invisible to organics," Magnus said sincerely, then looked to Ironhide. "Did you get it?"

"Yes, though I don't understand why we're bringing her. It won't be safe," Ironhide grumbled, handing something to Magnus.

"It will be even less safe here," Magnus replied. Ironhide grumbled something in Cybertronian, then disappeared again. This time, watching closely, I could see a faint flash of light when he vanished, reminding me of Q from Star Trek.

"He needs to snap his fingers before doing that," I mused, and Magnus gave me a funny look. "Never mind. What's this about me going somewhere?"

"We received intelligence some months ago that the Fallen had left information about an ancient weapon of great power, hidden somewhere in this system by his predecessors. At first we thought it was the Energon machine, but further intelligence proved that this was something different - and Megatron wants it. He's been pouring the majority of his resources into locating it. We just received intelligence that he finally found it, on Earth's moon. We're going to stop him from getting it. You need to come with us," Magnus said, turning to set me down on a nearby walkway.

"Why?" I asked.

"Your situation here is in limbo, at best," Magnus said, which was an answer, but not a good one. I frowned, and would have asked further, but Magnus presented me with something and told me to put it on before apparently getting distracted by his comms. Frowning, I inspected the pile of cloth and metal, eventually realizing it was a space suit - not one of human build, either. It was a lot less bulky, and the air supply was apparently contained in a tube the size of a thick marker.

"This thing is safe, right? You guys have tested it?" I asked dubiously once I had everything but the helmet on.

"It's Nebulan design - it's safe," Magnus replied with a nod.

"Oh," I said in surprise, feeling inexplicably safer after hearing that. Somehow I trusted a suit made by organics, for organics, more than a suit I'd assumed had been made by giant robots for organics. Chuckling to myself, I doubled-checked the suit to make sure I had everything done up right, then at Magnus' prompting, put on the helmet. He picked me up again, and then other Autobots were entering the hanger, heading for the middle of it, along with Magnus - and in a flash of light, we were gone.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** Still do not own them. Phooey.

**A/N: **Whoops, missed posting last week. My apologies! Anyways, this is where it gets...Mary-sueish. Please review anyways? ^.^

**- Chapter 5 -**

We appeared in the middle of a large room, and though I couldn't hear them charging, I was very much aware of the fact that every single Autobot had weapons out and charged - as did a whole pile of Decepticons, facing us. A stalemate, it seemed. Optimus and Megatron appeared to be talking, but I wasn't privy to it - they were probably talking in Cybertronian, anyways - so I looked around, trying to figure out where we were.

From what Magnus said, I assumed we were on the moon, though I couldn't tell. We appeared to be in an enclosed room, twice as tall as Optimus, and built to hold a large number of mechs. There were a couple dozen of both Autobots and Decepticons engaged in the stalemate, with room to spare. The room appeared to be metal, and the only break in the walls that I could see was a massive round door in one wall, highly decorated and with some sort of copper-coloured plaque in the middle that I couldn't read from where I was. There were no lights, as the ceiling itself seemed to be glowing gently, providing enough light for everyone to see.

Movement caught my eye as I finished surveying the room, and I turned to see everyone else staring at one of the Decepticons, who was staring at his canon in surprise - its glow, indicating it was charged, had disappeared. It appeared to be completely dead. Then another Decepticon swung around, pointed his weapon at the first, and...his canon went dead, too. There was a round of other canons going dead, and I realized as the generally agitation grew that they were all trying to fire, and couldn't. I giggled inside my suit as Magnus, and many of the Autobots, didn't even try, lowering their weapons. Looking back at Optimus, I noticed he seemed a bit smug now as he spoke with Megatron. The Decepticon leader made a threatening move after a few moments, but stopped, seeming frustrated, before smirking at Optimus and nodding. At this point, I looked up at Magnus and knocked on the finger holding me. He looked down and I gave him a curious look - I kinda wanted to know what was going on.

Text suddenly popped up in front of my eyes, and I reared back in surprise before focusing on it, and I realized it was a system message, in English, saying that someone wanted to contact me.

"Uh - sure?" I guessed at vocal control, and it seemed to work, as Magnus' suddenly sounded inside my helmet.

_"Sorry, I forgot you wouldn't have heard any of that," _Magnus apologized.

"That's fine," I said with a shrug. "Just catch me up on what's happening."

_"Well, since apparently we can't fight in this chamber, Megatron has agreed to work with us to uncover 'a piece of Cybertron's past',"_ Magnus said with a snort. _"He's claiming he's not looking for a weapon, and Optimus is letting him do so, so long as it doesn't result in hand-to-hand combat. It seems there's a locked door that the Decepticons have been failing to get through, anyways."_

"I noticed it. What does the plaque say?" I asked curiously.

_"Ah, that's why Megatron is accepting our help - it says only the voice of a Prime can open it," _Magnus said with a smirk, and as I watched, Optimus approached the door. He said something, frowned and reached out to touch the door, only to get knocked on his aft. The Decepticons laughed, Megatron smirking. The Autobots looked annoyed, shifting around, but nobody made any threatening movements.

"Well that didn't work," I commented.

_"No, apparently there's a specific phrase he needs to say. The Decepticons don't know what it is, either,"_ Magnus replied. Optimus had gotten up again, and was speaking with another Autobot. After a few minutes, he turned back to the door and spoke again. Nothing happened. This went on for awhile - Optimus speaking at the door, nothing happening, and everyone getting more and more frustrated. Eventually, Optimus walked away and started talking with Megatron again, and I asked Magnus if I could go have a look at the door.

_"I suppose,"_ he said, frowning. He moved carefully over to it, seeming to be trying not to attract attention, and I realized why when one of the Decepticons caught sight of me. Suddenly everyone's attention was on me, even Optimus and Megatron's, and I did my best not to shrink under the combined gaze as Magnus approached the door, letting me have a look. The plaque was in Cybertronian - big surprise - but I found it odd how the plaque was in a completely different style from the rest of the door. The door was advanced, high-tech, Cybertronian styling, while the plaque literally looked like any normal copper plaque - it even appeared to be attached with screws. It looked almost...human in origin. I paused, blinked, glanced up at Magnus, then back at the door.

"Peter Cullen," I said distinctly. There was an unsteady shudder, and then the door rolled open.

_"How..."_ Magnus trailed off, looking down at me in surprise.

"It's...the name of the guy who does the voicework for Optimus in the movies and original TV show back in my reality. 'The voice of a Prime'," I said with a frown, then looked up at Magnus suspiciously. "How did you know?"

_"There were some...vague references to someone who knew more than they should in the clues that were left to find this place,"_ Magnus said, looking embarrassed. _"The others dismissed them, since I hadn't gone into details about your past, but I suspected you needed to be up here."_

"Apparently you were right," I replied with a roll of my eyes. Movement caught my attention then, and I realized Optimus and Megatron had come up on either side of Magnus. Megatron was glaring daggers at me, while Optimus looked curiously at Magnus, who was probably doing some pretty fancy explaining. I took the opportunity to look through the door - it appeared to lead into a large, circular room, with a tube of some kind in the middle, and a console off to one side. The console was at human height. There was also a funny shimmering around the whole thing.

"Is that a force field?" I mused to myself, forgetting I had a comm line open to Magnus.

_"Yes, a very powerful one,"_ Magnus replied, startling me. _"We're trying to figure out how to get around it, considering the controls appear to be on the inside."_

"If I touch it, will it fry me?" I asked curiously.

_"Most definitely,"_ Magnus said, then turned back to the conversation with the others. After a few minutes, I noticed Ratchet step around Optimus, frowning at me. After a few moments, he walked over and leaned in, inspecting me closely before pulling away.

_"I take back what I said earlier,"_ Magnus said slowly. _"The field won't fry you. Ratchet says it matches your bioelectric field perfectly - you'll be able to walk through it unharmed."_

"So I was definitely meant to be here," I said with a snort, and Magnus nodded.

_"Apparently," _ he said, then stepped forward into the room. He got right up to the force field before setting me down. Despite his assurances, I hesitated a moment before going through, but it didn't even tingle - I couldn't even tell it was there. I looked back up at Magnus.

"Now what?" I asked.

_"Investigate the console?"_ he suggested, and I figured that was probably a good idea, so I did. It was, amusingly, an entirely human-style setup, and when I hit a button, a Windows logo popped up on the screen.

"OK, something wonky is going ," I said as I saw that. The rest of the stuff - ok, I could see someone with some sort of seers gift setting it up. But a Windows logo with 'Resistance is futile' underneath as the console booted up? This was personal. Whoever had made this place knew me.

_"Why, what's on the console?"_ Magnus asked over the comms.

"I'll tell you in a..." I trailed off as the logo finally disappeared, and I found myself staring at the face of a Cybertronian I had only seen back in my reality - Vector Prime.

_"Oh, it's you."_ His voice in my helmet startled me, and I stared wide-eyed at the screen.

"Whoa. It's you," I replied in a squeak. Vector Prime chuckled.

_"As articulate as ever. The command code is 1-28-alpha-tango-87."_

"The command code for what?" I asked blankly.

_"You'll find out. I'll see you later!"_ The mech on the screen disappeared, and suddenly Magnus's voice was in my helmet again.

_" - rry! What's going on?"_ he seemed worried, and I looked up and flashed him a smile.

"Nothing much, just talking to...someone," I decided not to mention the mech on the screen, instead turning to the new interface that was presented to me. It was fairly easy to understand, especially once I found the FAQ. Yes, there was a FAQ. And the first question on it was: 'Who built this place?' Answer: 'You did, duh.'

"Oh god, I hate time travel," I whined, realizing what that meant.

"_Time travel?"_ Magnus sounded confused, and I was about to reply when the next question caught my attention - 'So should I tell Magnus about any of this?' Answer - 'I didn't. Oh look, a paradox!'

"I'll...explain later," I said in surprise, and continued reading. The next few questions were all the obvious ones - why did I build the place, how, did I really end up time travelling and did it suck as much as I expected, and the answers were mostly unhelpful - 'You'll find out' for all of them. The next one - 'Can't you tell me anything?' - was answered with 'No', and that was when I closed the FAQ. "I hate my sense of humour sometimes," I mumbled to myself. Magnus, apparently realizing he wasn't going to get any answers from me, didn't comment, and I continued poking around the console. After a few minutes, I found something labeled 'main operations', and when I tried to open it, it asked for a command code. I punched in the one I'd been given, and then the screen changed again.

The new screen appeared to be a status screen, for whatever was in the tube. From the images given, it looked like it was...a mechanoid body? I frowned, and when I spotted the 'open tube' button, I hit it, then looked up. A large panel opened on the side of the tube, sliding out of the way. Glancing over at the Autobots and Decepticons, crowding the other side of the force field, I realized that the angle meant that they couldn't see inside the tube. I shook my head and look back up at it - sure enough, it was a mechanoid body (deep navy blue, for those interested, and smooth and curvy like Autobot femmes in the cartoons, and not movie-Arcee)...but it was holding something.

"No freaking way." I stared in surprise at the miniature Allspark cube, wondering how in the nine hells it had gotten here - how it existed at all.

"_What is it?"_ Magnus asked. I didn't answer, looking back down at the console. I scrolled through screens quickly, trying to figure out what exactly was going on. The only thing useful that I found, however, was a button labeled 'activate'.

"There's a button labeled 'activate'. I don't know what it activates exactly, but I want to push it," I said, staring at the button.

_"Don't. See if you can find any more information. Remember this is a weapon,"_ Magnus said seriously. I looked over at him, amused, then back up at the tube - it was probably the farthest thing from a weapon I'd ever seen. Unless the body was going to suddenly come to life and try and kill me, all Terminator style. Somehow I doubted it, and so I hit the button. Magnus started yelling at me to get out of there, but I stayed, watching curiously as silver tracework began to glow on the armor of the body in the tube. The optics remained dark, however, and curiously, I walked over, finding that there was a ledge that I could use to haul myself up and into the tube. Staring up at the mech body from the floor, I estimated it was a few feet shorter than Magnus. I walked around it, not noticing how my helmet had gone silent, inspecting the body. It was in working order, as far as I could tell - there just didn't seem to be anyone home. Hoping to get some answers, at least, before I went out and told the others what was in here, I reached out and poked the body.

My mistake.

* * *

I woke to furious yelling, snarky comments, and general _noise._ And considering what a headache I had, this wasn't too welcome.

"Shut the frag up," I growled. The voices did just that, and I sighed in contentment before opening my eyes to figure out what had happened. Or well, tried to open my eyes. I ended up turning on my optics instead. Which made me stop, do a double take, and then look down at myself. And yeeeep, I was in the body that had been - still was - in the tube. My human body didn't seem to be inside, but the Allspark was at my feet, and after a moment of hesitation, I knelt to pick it up. It tingled a little, which I marveled over, before I realized someone was talking to me - Magnus.

_"Terry, you need to get out of there. The room is flooded with radiation that's lethal to humans. You shouldn't even be alive right now," _he was saying seriously.

"Hunh. Not surprised," I mused as I looked at Allspark in my hands. Then, after a moment of thought, I set it back down again, carefully stepping out of the tube and turning to face the Autobots and Decepticons, who looked back curiously.

_"Terry...who or what is that?"_ Magnus asked slowly, clearly not realizing it was me, and I chuckled.

"This...is me," I replied, then waved cheerfully to him. Magnus looked pole axed. The other Autobots looked confused, the Decepticons frustrated. Glancing back into the tube once more, I headed towards the force field, pausing right at its edge. Data was streaming through a HUD in front of me, but I had no idea what it meant, so I turned to locate Ratchet - only to realize I should probably try and figure out how to talk to him. I concentrated hard on what I wanted, and the option to request a connection popped up. Ratchet started as I activated the option, but then the connection was accepted.

"_Hello?"_ he asked warily.

"Is it still safe for me to walk through?" I asked him, and he started, apparently recognizing my voice.

_"Er - one moment,"_ he shoved his way passed Optimus, closer to me, and seemed to look me up and down briefly - a few things popped up on my HUD. I figured he was probably scanning me. _"You should be fine."_

"Should be?" I asked warily.

_"I've never seen anyone walk through a force field of this strength without getting hurt,"_ Ratchet said with a shrug. _"But, you've already done it once."_

"Um...alright then," I said, figuring I wouldn't build a death trap for myself, and stepped through.

Instant chaos. Apparently the Decepticons had decided I was the 'weapon' and were trying to 'seize' me. The Autobots didn't like that too much. To solve the problem, I darted back through the force field at the first available opportunity. They kept fighting, unfortunately, and grumbling to myself, I went over to the console, which obligingly raised itself up to my level and transformed into a bigger version. I looked at it in amusement before poking through it. There was already a system to block weapons fire, so I was wondering if there were any more defensive systems.

It turned out there were, and I smirked as I realized _what_ they were: precision space bridges and blocks. I promptly set about locking onto each Decepticon in turn, bridging them to Mars - about half a kilometer above the planet's surface. It took the Decepticons a few minutes to figure out what was going on, and then even more time to realize who was doing it. By the time they stopped fighting, only Megatron was left. I zapped him out, anyways, and headed back to the force field.

_"That was impressive,"_ Magnus said.

"Yes, well, things get easy when you build facilities for yourself," I grumbled.

"_You built this place?"_ Magnus asked in surprise.

"With help, I'm guessing, yes," I said with a sigh. "It involves time travel and I advised myself not to tell you everything just yet, so I can't really say anymore."

_"But you built this place for yourself to...what? Give yourself a mechanoid body?"_ Magnus asked with a frown.

"Apparently! Future - or is that past? - me wasn't exactly clear on everything. I didn't even know what was going to happen, I figured this body was someone else," I said in frustration as I stepped through the force field. Ratchet was instantly beside me, scanning, while the other Autobots - including Magnus - seemed to be giving me a wide berth. They were probably talking amongst themselves, judging from the ever-changing expressions on some faces, but I wasn't let in on the discussion, instead just standing there, watching as Ratchet scanned me. Eventually, he stepped back, looking thoughtfully at me, and I received a request to open a comm line. I accepted.

_"Your body is highly advanced - perhaps a thousand years beyond our current technology, if we were still advancing in physiological technology the way we were at the start of the war,"_ Ratchet told me. _"I don't suppose you know anything about it yourself?"_

"Er -" I hesitated, sending a few queries to my databanks - and trying not to think overly much about how weird that was. I got back nothing, however. "There was very little _helpful_ information in the console, and there's none at all in my databanks. Apparently I didn't want to give myself any hints." Ratchet hmm'ed, and the connection cut off as he turned his attention to the others. I knew for sure that there was another conversation going on around me, but as much as it irked me, I didn't interrupt. This was new for all of us, and I could get the information out of Magnus later. Hopefully. He was still keeping his distance from me, and I wondered if there was going to be a problem. I hoped not.

It was over twenty minutes - I actually had a chronometer so I could tell - before I received another comm, this time from Optimus.

_"Terry, we've decided it's probably best to move this discussion elsewhere - do you still want to see Ganymede?"_ Optimus smiled as he asked, looking even more amused as I nodded vigorously.

"Love to!" I replied cheerfully.

_"Good. Standby,"_ he said, and I quickly found myself understanding what Magnus had meant when he said a space bridge was obvious to Cybertronians - my sensors picked up the change in gravitational forces and alerted me immediately, bringing up a visual over-lay to show where the bridge was opening, even as it helpfully informed me about what was happening. I wondered if all Cybertronians had systems that supplied information like that, but filed it away as a question to ask later as the space bridge grew big enough to encompass all the Autobots. There was a brief white-out, where I couldn't see anything, and then the bridge - and the room on the Moon - were gone.

* * *

Ganymede, it seemed, had been hit harder than Magnus had let on to me. The place was in shambles, and as soon as we appeared, Autobots took off, some picking up equipment that was sitting nearby as they went. Judging from the surety with which they moved, and the way they seemed unsurprised - unlike Optimus and the other Autobots that I knew had been on Earth, minus Ironhide - they had likely come from Ganymede to begin with, pausing in their repairs to engage the Decepticons on the Moon.

Those Autobots that didn't head off immediately stayed nearby as Optimus headed off, moving cautiously and stopping occasionally to talk to someone. Eventually, his destination became visible - a ship that looked remarkably like the Ark, right down to its brilliant orange colour. I stared at it incredulously as we approached, having assumed - hoped - that the colour would just be the result of cartoonists in my reality wanting a colourful background.

Inside, it seemed there was still an atmosphere, as we had to go through an airlock. I stopped in surprise once I reached the inside and the atmosphere hit me, however - not only was it breathable by humans, but as soon as my sensors finished analyzing it, a new option popped up on my HUD - 'Earth-atmosphere detected - activate transformation sequence?' I hesitated, but decided not to. I'd play around with that later. Right now I suspected it was time for a serious discussion, something emphasized more as only Ratchet, Ironhide, Magnus and I followed Prime into a room that looked suspiciously like an office. I looked around as the door closed, noting that it seemed spartan, but functional.

"Now that we're in a more private venue..." Optimus seemed tired as he spoke. "Terry, can you tell us anything more about how this happened?" I turned to look at him, hesitating uncertainly.

"To be honest, I'm not sure about how much I _should_ say. I hate dealing with time travel even in theory, and finding myself confronted with it in reality is...annoyingly difficult to make sense of. Especially since I don't even know everything myself," I said. Optimus hmm'ed.

"How about you tell us what you can, then, and if there's anything you think you shouldn't tell us, just say so, and we'll let you be," Optimus said, then glanced seriously at the other three mechs in the room. "Agreed?" They all murmured some form of assent, Magnus a few beats after the others, before I nodded as well. "Then lets start at the beginning. Beyond Ratchet telling you that your new form is highly advanced, how do you know time travel is involved?"

"I found a FAQ in the console - first question was 'who built this place?' and the answer was 'you did'. Considering that base has been there since before the Fallen, well, fell - time travel is pretty obvious," I said.

"But there was no actual confirmation that you time travelled to make it?" Ironhide butted in, scowling, and I hesitated, thinking carefully.

"No. Not technically. I suppose I could have built the place and then someone else transported it back in time, or I could have just been being dramatic in the FAQ, and I only gave someone the schematics and instructions for constructing the place," I said.

"Someone like Vector Prime?" Ironhide asked stonily.

"Er, I wouldn't..." I paused, frowning. "Actually, I don't even technically know him yet, so why am I defending him? Yes. He's involved."

"You seem certain about that," Optimus said curiously.

"When I activated the console he popped up on the screen, made a few snarky comments, then gave me the command codes before disappearing. Though why the thing needed command codes when I was the only person who could access it is beyond me," I said.

"Probably as a safety precaution," Optimus said, sighing. "Was there anything to give you an idea about why the facility was built, or was the purpose of having you in a Cybertronian body is?"

"No. Well, I suppose that isn't correct. There were questions regarding that in the FAQ, though they were a bit general, and all they said was 'you'll find out'. So I doubt I'm supposed to know immediately," I said. "Frankly I'm as surprised as you guys about this whole change - there wasn't even a hint of what would happen."

"Then _why_ did you push that button in the first place, let alone enter the tube?" Magnus spoke for the first time since I bridged the Decepticons off the Moon, and he sounded furious. I frowned, wondering why, but answered the question.

"Because I knew that, whatever the button did, it wouldn't harm me. And I entered the tube to see if poking this body would wake it up," I said.

"How? How did you know?" Magnus asked, rather aggressively.

"I just did. I can't tell you how," I told him, getting irritated at his tone of voice. Magnus scowled, seeming ready to ask more, but Optimus shot him a quelling look. I tried not to think about how my fears that Magnus and I now had a problem had been confirmed as I turned my attention back to Optimus.

"There isn't much more we can discuss without further information," Optimus said as he, too, returned his attention to me. "For now, I'd like you to go with Ratchet to get a more thorough check out. Later I'd like you and Magnus to return to the facility on the moon to see if you can discover anything else." Magnus' scowl deepened, but I ignored him.

"Sounds good to me," I said, and we broke up, Ratchet leading me out of the office, heading a different way than Ironhide, while Optimus and Magnus remained in the office. I suspected I didn't want to hear their conversation, since Magnus was apparently angry with me about something now. Ratchet made no comment as he led me through the Ark, eventually ending up in what could only be the med bay.

"Up on the berth and lay down," Ratchet said, nodding to one of the many 'tables' lining the room. I did as I was told, and Ratchet activated a console next to the berth, and shortly afterwards, devices sprouted from the ceiling and floor, and I think even the side of the berth, as Ratchet began running a comprehensive check-up. He even took some fluids, and peeked under some of my armor.

"As expected, you're perfectly fine. Technologically advanced, of course, but fine so far as I can determine," Ratchet finally announced. "I am reading that you have an alt form, however - do you know what it is?"

"Not a clue. Though it popped up asking me if I wanted to transform into it as soon as it detected an Earth atmosphere," I replied.

"Really." Ratchet looked interested. "Why don't you try activating it now?" I hopped off the berth and stepped back a bit before pulling up the prompt from before, this time hitting 'yes'.

It was disturbing, transforming. Parts were disappearing, rearranging - it felt strange. Also, I was apparently shrinking quite a bit. It was distinctly unnerving, and it took me several moments to realize I'd finished transforming - I only noticed because of the astonished look Ratchet was giving me. Frowning, I glanced down at myself, wondering what had astonished him. I didn't wonder for long - looking down, I found myself. My _human_ self.

"Whoa," I said, my eyes widening in surprise. A few mental queries showed that I was still Cybertronian - I wasn't actually human, I just looked it - but it was distinctly strange as I stretched out my arms and flexed my limbs, discovering that I looked and moved entirely like a human.

"Terry?" the astonished query came from the doorway to the med bay, and I turned to find Magnus standing there, looking as pole axed as he had right after I'd shown him my new form. Almost without thinking of it, I activated my transformation sequence again, turning back to Ratchet as I reached my full height.

"I guess we know what my alt form is now," I said stiffly.

"Evidently," Ratchet mused. "I wonder who finally perfected the subspace transformation technology? And how? Almost every scientist on Cybertron was trying to figure that out before the war. As a side project, usually, but most had theories on it, at the least."

"We'll find out eventually I suppose," I said.

"Yes, indeed. For now you two had better get going," Ratchet said, shaking his head. "Before I give in to my mental Wheeljack and try to figure it out now." I grinned at him, though it faded when I turned back to Magnus.

"Ready to go?" I asked him stiffly, formally, since he was back to scowling at me. He nodded curtly, then turned on his heel and headed out. I had to jog a bit to keep up, and didn't bother coming up beside him, instead keeping step just behind him. We exited the Ark and headed back to the room in the Ganymede base where we'd bridged in, Magnus activating the bridge without saying a word. Once we were on the Moon, he just looked at me and silently motioned for me to go ahead. I hesitated for a moment, but headed into the inner chamber, stepped through the force field and over to the console. I glanced up at the tube, to make sure the object I'd left inside was still there, then focused on the task at hand, sorting through the data in the console.

Unfortunately, it seemed there was very little there that I hadn't already discovered - there was the operational code for the facility, including defenses and maintenance, there was the FAQ, some communications protocols - which were now inaccessible, despite how I tried to activate them. I would love to have another chat with Vector Prime right now. There was coding for the force fields, as well, but there didn't seem to be any 'on/off' option. The code was closed, focused purely on maintaining it. It seemed that the field wasn't meant to be turned off, ever. I couldn't even find anything about a power source. Frustrated, I abandoned the console, heading out to the main room, where Magnus was standing, his back to the door, staring stonily at nothing. I paused in the doorway, watching him for a moment, before pinging his comm system. He started, turning to frown at me, but accept the connection.

"What is it?" I asked him.

_"What?"_ he asked, frowning.

"Whatever it is that's got you acting like this. What is it?" I elaborated. His frowning deepened, and he turned back to the other side of the room. He didn't seem like he was going to answer, so I walked over to him and tentatively touched his arm. He shrugged it off. "Why does me having a Cybertronian body bother you?" I took a guess, and I could tell I hit the mark when he tensed.

_"It doesn't,"_ he denied.

"Yes, it does. Why?" I asked.

_"It..."_ Magnus looked frustrated as he looked down at me, then he suddenly slumped. _"Because it isn't _you."

"Why not?" I asked after a moment, deciding not to bring up the discussion we'd had about appearance and its place in Cybertronian relationships.

_"It just isn't,"_ Magnus sounded frustrated again.

"I'm still me," I told him. "I'm just big and metal now. Though, as Ratchet and I just discovered, apparently I can be small and human again if you prefer."

_"No!"_ Magnus said sharply. _"It's not the same. It's...a charade."_

"So is your holoform," I pointed out. Magnus groaned, stepping away from me, heading for the other side of the room, apparently needing some space. "What is it, Magnus? Come on, you know me - and, I hope, trust me. You can tell me what's wrong. I promise I won't get offended if that's what you're worried about."

_"I find that difficult to believe,"_ Magnus grumbled.

"Why?" I asked flatly. "Give me something here, Magnus. Anything. I'm still trying to get used to - _this -_" I waved at my new body, "- and it would be nice if I could do it with you, instead of having to muddle through on my own."

_"Did you plan this?"_ The question was seemingly off-topic, but as Magnus turned to give me an intense look, I realized he'd finally answered my questions.

"Plan this? What, like, me becoming Cybertronian?" I asked, to clarify, and Magnus nodded stiffly. "No. It's a common idea among fans of the shows and movies in my reality, but I personally never thought about it. I considered the idea of a human gaining a Cybertronian body to be the result of the starry-eyed daydreams of fans with and unhealthy obsession with your universe, to be honest. I didn't give it any serious consideration before I came to this reality, and I can honestly say it hasn't even crossed my mind since I got here."

_"Then why would you build a facility to make yourself Cybertronian?"_ Magnus asked tensely.

"I don't know," I replied. "Without pinning down Vector Prime - or my future self - and asking a few pointed questions, I can't know. It could be because of you, or it might be for some other reason entirely," Magnus didn't seem to like that answer, but he walked back over to me, hesitating a moment before resting his hands on my shoulders, looking me in the optics seriously.

_"You know that I did not - still _do not_ - care if you are human, right?"_ he asked. I smiled faintly.

"I didn't know for sure, but I got that impression," I said, and then my smile fell. "I get the impression that you care if I'm Cybertronian, however."

_"It's -"_ Magnus broke off with a low growl and stepped away again, letting his hands drop from my shoulders. He suddenly seemed to need to look anywhere but at me, fidgeting as he glanced around. _"It's a personal issue."_

"What, do you have a fetish for organics or something?" I asked dryly, and Magnus shot me a mild glare. "Well if it's affecting me I think I have a right to know." I said calmly, trying to be patient, even if his beating around the bush was beginning to get irritating. Fortunately, he was apparently willing to talk once pushed.

_"I've spent thousands of years, according to human time measurements, fighting a war. A brutal, deadly war that has decimated my home planet and the majority of its population - over 90% of our population has died since Megatron first turned against Optimus. I have lost friends, family. Optimus is the only mech remaining that I knew before the war, in fact. And he teeters on the edge of being destroyed every time we go into battle. I actually lost him for a time - and I felt it, even half a galaxy away, I felt it when he died. I was overjoyed when I felt our weak brotherly bond come back to life,"_ Magnus said, then hesitated, turning back towards me. _"I have lost so many in this war, sometimes I feel like I am barely clinging to my sanity. Then you came along."_

"You don't want to lose me, too," I murmured, seeing where this was going, and Magnus hesitated, nodded. I frowned. "No, there's more to it than that, isn't there?" Magnus frowned at me.

_"You are far too perceptive,"_ he grumbled.

"Sorry. Comes from my mother's side of the family," I said with an unapologetic smile and shrug. Magnus shook his head and stepped forward, unexpectedly wrapping me in a hug. I stiffened slightly at the strangeness - I hadn't been hugged like this before - but relaxed quickly as I realized it was just as comforting in a mechanoid form as it was in an organic one.

_"I don't want you to be involved in this war,"_ Magnus finally murmured. _"It's far from over, and at the rate we're going, the war will only end with the extinction of all Cybertronians. We've already lost the Allspark."_

"I'm proof that it won't come to that, though - Ratchet himself said this body is a thousand years beyond your technology, if you were progressing at the rate you were before the war," I said, drawing back slightly to look up at Magnus. "That's proof, at least, that the Cybertronians will survive."

_"Survive is _all_ we'll be able to do - our race has no future, now, not without the Allspark,"_ Magnus said with a shake of his head. _"And that is what you've joined - a dying race with no future. That is why I'd rather you remained human. As a human, at least, you had a future, a legacy."_

"Magnus..." I trailed off, then stepped out of his hug, grabbed his arm and pulling him with me into the other room. I let him go at the force field, stepping through and heading for the tube, reaching inside for the Allspark. Before I pulled it out, I glanced back at him. "This was in the tube from the start, but I didn't - still don't - think it's time to let anyone besides you and I know about it. Megatron will fight to the bitter end, and this would just extend that end." With that, I withdrew my arm from the tube, showing him the Allspark that had been left in there.

_"That's...impossible,"_ Magnus said, sounding stunned.

"If you say so," I said with a slight smile, and after a moment, Magnus shook his head.

_"You'd better put it back,"_ he said, and I did so, actually closing the tube around it this time before heading back through the force field, stopping in front of Magnus. _"It seems you have an interesting future ahead of you."_

"And you were just telling me how I'd downgraded my future," I said with a grin. Magnus returned the grin, then suddenly leaned down and...well, kissed me, for lack of a better term. It wasn't like a human kiss, but it did involve mouth parts connecting and sparks flying, though in this case, those sparks were more literal. It was almost like getting static shock, only it didn't hurt. It definitely felt good, in fact, and when Magnus pulled away, I was left staring up at him somewhat dazedly.

_"Are you alright?"_ Magnus asked after a few moments, his expression going from amused to concerned at my reaction.

"Yeah - yeah. That was just...different," I said, forcefully pulling myself together, though I couldn't quite stop the goofy grin from plastering itself on my face.

_"I'm glad I'm not the only one to think so,"_ Magnus said with a chuckle. _"It was difficult getting used to human methods of affection. Actually, I've been meaning to thank you - I realize you held back quite a bit."_

"Yeah, well, knowing who - or rather what - you were from the start helped with that," I said with a chuckle. "Which is probably a good thing, because any other girl probably would have decided you were gay or impotent, with the speed you moved." Magnus laughed.

_"I assure you, I am neither,"_ he rumbled, his voice dropping an octave or so, and he pulled me in for another kiss. This one was a little longer, but eventually I pushed away, shaking my head and trying to recover from the sensation.

"H'okay! Role-reversal time," I said. "Time to slow down for the poor ex-human who has had a really, really long day." Magnus chuckled.

_"Very well,"_ he said. _"We should probably return to Ganymede before Optimus shows up, anyways. He was rather concerned - incorrectly - for your safety when I left his office."_

"What, did he think you were going to attack me or something?" I asked, giving Magnus an incredulous look.

_"I'm really not sure _what_ he thought,"_ Magnus said with a shake of his head as we returned to the main room. _"My brother is a mystery at times."_

"I'll bet," I said with a snort as I saw the space bridge begin to form around us. "By the way, I see what you meant. Literally." I snickered faintly, and Magnus chuckled as the room dissolved in white.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** Not mine!

**A/N: **Sorry for the delay - had...issues with letting me update. -.-

**- Chapter 6 -**

The next week was busy, as the Autobots worked to rebuild the Ganymede base, a process impeded by the Decepticons making periodic attacks. Magnus and Optimus decided to send me to Earth after the second such attack, even though I'd proven I was very good at running and hiding when the Decepticons showed up. Ratchet was to accompany me to Earth, since both Magnus and Optimus were needed on Ganymede, and it was decided that I could use my 'alt form' to help explain what had happened up on the Moon - not the actual events, of course, but the 'official' story. The official story was that there hadn't actually been a weapon up on the Moon, but a hidden femme, locked in stasis, who was currently on Ganymede, recovering. I let Ratchet field most of the questions, just piping up to give the questioning generals and ambassadors a human perspective, letting them know that this new femme was no threat, just different. And old. I tried not to pout every time I had to add that.

What time we didn't spend talking with government officials who were worried about the Moon, I spent quizzing Ratchet up. He seemed infinitely amused at how curious I was now about the more _personal_ aspects of a Cybertronian's life. Especially the mating and courtship parts.

"Can you blame me? I didn't really have to worry about it before now," I grumbled over the comm line - I'd kept all our discussions to comms, since I didn't want anyone accidentally overhearing.

_"No, it's understandable, I just find it entertaining. Magnus was a confirmed bachelor _before_ the war started, according to Optimus,"_ Ratchet said with a smirk. _"To see him suddenly - what is that phrase you humans have? Ah yes, 'fall head over heels' for you, is entertaining. You needing to ask about Cybertronian courtship and mating just makes it more entertaining."_ I eyed Ratchet suspiciously.

"Why do I get the feeling that you _asked_ to come to Earth with me?" I said.

_"Well, it was hardly difficult to predict that you'd have some difficult questions to ask, and who better to answer than a medic," _Ratchet replied smugly.

"I hope you're not taking the opportunity to give..._creative_ answers," I said, glaring up at the medic.

_"No, of course not. I _am _a professional,"_ Ratchet scoffed. Regardless, after that conversation, I started double-checking his answers however I could, and kept a list of everything I couldn't verify, intending to take a detailed look at his medical database the next time I was on Ganymede.

Eventually, of course, Ganymede was mostly reconstructed, and I returned there, along with several NEST soldiers - including Major Lennox and Epps - who were supposed to assess the situation for their superiors. Which they did, eventually, but really they were just there to make sure their friends were alright, since most of the Autobots hadn't been seen on Earth since Megatron had made his move. They were also, of course, curious about the 'new femme', and I took the opportunity to transform and give them a few clueless looks whenever they tried to talk to me - my voice was the same between forms, and I didn't want them to recognize it, so everyone just told the humans that there were some language issues. When they left a few days later, most of the officers went with them, since they usually stayed on Earth - only Magnus stayed up on Ganymede.

Of course, that meant that I got to spend time with Magnus - actually, I was recharging in his quarters. He was apparently in charge of assigning quarters, but refused to assign me any. Not that I really argued - he was a busy mech, and me using his quarters meant that I was guaranteed some time with him during a day. Also, he was apparently quite affectionate when not trying to overcome the cultural difference in mating rituals. I got all the snuggles, hugs, kisses, and gropes a girl could ever wish for. He held back from anything further, though, and for that I was grateful. The way Ratchet had described things seemed complicated, and I wanted it to have time to settle before, well, actually trying it.

Magnus did actually go back to Earth more frequently than I'd previously thought - though, when I stopped to think about it, he'd been back to Earth often enough before that he could carry on a relationship with me, so I should have anticipated it. Still, he seemed to spend half his time on Earth, talking with a handful of generals that I learned were the Autobots' main liaisons outside of NEST, and who approved Autobots for duty on Earth. More often than not, I came with Magnus to the meetings, and though I got some strange looks the first time, I stood quietly in the background, and only piped up when Magnus needed a human perspective expressed to the generals. They didn't give me any strange looks or protest after that.

It was two weeks later that, while driving into Washington with Magnus, I felt something blip on my sensors. It was very faint, and when I probed further, I realized that the signal was coming from San Francisco.

"Hey, Magnus, are you pi-" The signal suddenly got stronger, and more insistent, startling me.

_"Am I what, Terry?"_ Magnus asked curiously.

"You're not picking that up, are you?" I asked - I doubted he'd be so calm if he was.

_"Picking what up?"_ Magnus replied.

"Hrm. Find us a bridge spot. I think I need to be in San Fran," I told him.

_"You think? Why?"_ Magnus asked, sounding confused, even as he turned, heading for a secluded spot where we could safely disappear without causing problems. Thanks to the space bridge technology on Ganymede, the Autobots and their allies could appear or disappear from anywhere on in the solar system - except for the places they'd set up bridge jammers, such as most of Ganymede, and on all the NEST bases. However, on Earth there was still the issue of civilians not in the know seeing vehicles randomly disappear into thin air - or worse, being caught on the edge of a space bridge, something Ratchet informed me was 100% fatal.

"I'm picking up something on my sensors," I told Magnus absently, pestering my sensors for more information. They were blaring insistently now, and not in a friendly way, insisting something was horribly wrong in San Francisco, and I needed to get there now. "Hurry," I urged Magnus.

_"How can you even pick up anything from San Francisco?" _Magnus asked curiously.

"I don't know, but it's screaming at me," I told him urgently.

_"In a good way or a bad way?"_ Magnus asked, slowly slightly. Knowing he would insist I stay here if I said bad - I was only beginning combat training - and also knowing that I needed to go, I gave the only response I could.

"I have no idea, but I need to be there. I think it might have something to do with how advanced my body is," I replied. Magnus still seemed reluctant, but he found us a spot to bridge, and didn't ask me to get out of his cab as the bridge formed around us. Right as the bridge reached critical mass, I saw something change in it, and suddenly my sensors were screaming about something else entirely.

"_Shit!_" I managed to yelp before the space bridge swallowed us.

* * *

Usually, when travelling via space bridge, you don't even notice the few seconds of travel from one end to the other. According to Ratchet, a Cybertronian's chronometer actually stopped when going through a bridge, so they technically lose those few seconds. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker had helped establish that fact, and since then, had done their best to travel through the same number of bridges. Sunstreaker claimed it was because he was only a few seconds older than Sideswipe, so if he went through a few more bridges than his twin, he'd end up younger. Sideswipe said it felt funny when they got too far ahead or behind each other.

Magnus and I, however, noticed the time spent in this space bridge. Mostly because it hurt like hell - it felt like I was on fire, heat and pain coursing through me and hurting in a way I hadn't thought was possible since I became Cybertronian. I know I screamed, and I think I heard Magnus screaming, too, for those twelve seconds - according to my chronometer, which _didn't_ stop. Then suddenly we were out, and without thinking, I blindly grabbed for Magnus' door handle, tumbling out of his cab and transforming back to my mech form before collapsing on the ground with a groan. Once I was bigger, it didn't seem to hurt so much, but the aftershocks remained, and I just lay on the ground, twitching, for a minute.

My systems settled down pretty quickly, though, and I pushed myself up. Glancing behind me, I saw Magnus had also transformed and collapsed on the ground, but he seemed to be out cold. I suspected I had my more advanced tech to thank for me still being conscious, so I went to check on him. I had absolutely no training in telling if a mech was healthy - my training with Ratchet in that regards wasn't supposed to start until later - but I could do a visual check, and my sensors seemed to be good at alerting me to things going wrong.

I had just rolled Magnus over to get a good look when my sensors announced another space bridge was opening, and I whirled in its direction - the space bridge was clearly not normal, but it wasn't like the one that had brought us here. It also didn't seem to hurt as much, as Vector Prime stepped out of it completely nonchalantly. He actually seemed surprised to see me, and even more surprised to see Magnus.

"What are _you_ doing here?" we blurted out at the same time. Vector snickered, and I glared at him.

"This does explain the ripple," he said, stepping towards me and offering me a hand up. I took it, then glanced down at Magnus.

"Can you make sure he's OK? I can't tell, yet," I said, worried, and Vector glanced down.

"He's fine, for now. He won't survive long in this place, though," he said, then looked at me. "I need to take him back to your time. When did you leave?" I recited the precise date and time, down to the millisecond. "Good, thank you. Step back." He crouched next to Magnus, resting his hand above Magnus' spark chamber.

"What about me?" I asked, and Vector glanced up.

"You'll be fine," he said, then disappeared in the fastest forming space bridge I'd ever seen - and it was one of the funny ones from before. I expected him to come back a few minutes later, thinking he'd meant that I'd be fine until he got Magnus to safety, but after several minutes, there was no sign of Vector, and with a growl, I kicked at the spot I'd last seen them, and turned my attention to my surroundings.

Once I told my sensors, 'ok, tell me about where I am', they started screaming at me. Apparently wherever I was had gotten nuked a few billion times - the radioactivity was at the top of my very large scale. And it was obvious that it had gotten nuked, too, since there was rubble all around, mixed with traces of worked metal and other signs of civilization. There was nothing identifiable, however, and when I looked up to see if I could figure out where I was with stellar clues, there was a dusty haze that obscured the sky from view. Grumbling to myself, I set my systems to work, analyzing what they could. I specifically asked them to compare things to my recorded Earth norms - I didn't want to even think it, but I'd started on Earth, and had been bridging to somewhere else of Earth, and had probably time travelled. And lets face it, Earth's future has always had a significant chance of involving a nuclear holocaust.

While my systems worked, I picked the direction that seemed to have the bigger pieces of rubble and started walking. After a kilometer or so, my systems informed me that they had concluded that no organic life could exist in this environment. I'd kinda figured that, so I ignored it and kept walking. A few more kilometers, and my systems tried to tell me their results were 'inconclusive'. I put them back to work and kept walking, hoping that there would be energon sometime in my future.

I'd been walking for almost five hours when my sensors picked up something, ahead of me and to the left, and I immediately swerved towards it. With all the radiation around - albeit slightly weaker than where I'd started - my sensors couldn't pick up anything specific about it, so as I got closer, I started to move more cautiously, activating the camouflage protocols that Ratchet had shown me. All Cybertronians had them, and for all my body was advanced in technology, apparently my camouflage protocols were exactly the same as everyone else's - they changed my armor's colour to whatever was behind me. They weren't precise or fast enough to render me invisible, effectively being the Cybertronian version of camo clothes and face paint, so I moved slowly as I approached.

It turned out there was no reason to be cautious, however - there was no one ahead of me. The blip on my sensors, in fact, was apparently a stable space bridge - a wormhole. It was an angry orange in colour, glowing enough to cast its light on the landscape around it, making the radioactive dust an ugly greenish-orange that was closer to puke in colour than anything else I could think of. Making a face, I got as close to the wormhole as I dared, running a full scan of it. The reports came back, again, inconclusive - my sensors had no idea where the thing went, how it was existing, why it wasn't tearing up the planet, anything. I glanced around, half expecting Vector Prime to appear, but when he didn't, I turned back to the wormhole and shrugged.

"Better than hanging around here, walking in circles," I told it, then stepped forward. The trip through the wormhole was smooth, and as I emerged from the other side, I looked back at it in surprise before turning my attention to my new location.

The first thing that caught my gaze was the distinctive form of Jupiter hanging over me, and then my location systems beeped at me and informed me I was on Ganymede. I looked around in surprise, expecting to see Autobots - or someone - nearby, but I was once again alone, this time in familiar ruins. It was hard not to recognize the Ganymede base, after all the time I'd spent on it recently. Frowning, I took a moment to orient myself, realizing I was in the space bridge control room, and then headed for the nearest console.

It was destroyed, but there was power - albeit very little - so I headed for the command center. I'd only been there once, to deliver something to Magnus, since I technically wasn't cleared to access it, but I knew that, as the most important part of the complex - next to the med bay - it had superior shielding and back-up generators. Granted, it was also the biggest target, but hey. I was halfway to it when a chance glance to my right revealed that there was a ship still resting in the spaceport fields. Curious, I detoured, making for the ship. As I approached, I realized that it had apparently landed after the destruction of the base - not only did it look newer, but there were signs of junk being moved out of the way for it to land. It also seemed to be an advanced form of a human shuttle - the form was familiar enough that I could tell, even without the big American flag plastered on the side, and the English lettering naming it 'USS Starcaller'.

Detecting an Earth atmosphere inside, I walked around the shuttle until I found the cargo bay doors. They didn't open when I approached, but my sensors detected that the atmosphere on the other side was slowly draining, so I waited, and after a few minutes they opened. Stepping inside, I waited for the doors to close and the atmosphere to return before transforming into my human form - I'd had some time to glance around, and realized that while the ship was built to accommodate Cybertronians in the back - there were even a few cubes of energon nearby that had long since lost their charge and gone bad, becoming nothing more than pink goo - the ship was obviously meant to only be fully accessible to humans. Fortunately, I could deal with that.

I exited the cargo bay via the only door that didn't lead outside, and then followed my sensors to the front of the shuttle, where the primary systems all apparently led. Stepping through the final set of doors, I looked around in amusement, wondering when the Star Trek geeks took over. It looked distinctly like a Star Trek bridge, right down to the lone chair in the center, though it had a lot more console and screens, and wasn't quite as aesthetically pleasing. There were also actual toggles and switches and buttons, instead of just light-up consoles.

Given the familiarity of the design, I decided to make an educated guess, and headed for the seat at the front left of the 'bridge'. Sliding into the chair, I scanned the console before pressing a random button. Alarms immediately began blaring.

"Oh shit!" I yelped, and hit the button again. The alarms turned off. I sighed in relief. "God, what I wouldn't give for a vocal command interface right now," I said as I inspected the console. Deciding it was too complicated, I instead headed for the 'middle' chair - Captain's chair had to have something interesting, right? Yeah. Everything was passworded.

Grumbling to myself, I went to another console, but it, too, was passworded. Going quickly through all the 'stations' on the bridge, I discovered that only the front left one was unlocked, and so with a sigh, I took a seat there again, and began an in-depth scan, sitting back and letting my systems figure out how it worked while I thought about my day so far.

It was clear, by now, that Vector Prime felt I was supposed to be here. For what reason, I didn't know, partially because I had next to no information at this point. With Ganymede destroyed like this, I was fairly sure the radioactive wasteland I'd come from was Earth. Which left the obvious question of what the hell happened, and was I supposed to be here so I could find out and prevent it? I doubted it - Vector Prime, from what I remembered, was supposed to protect the time continuity, and I'm fairly sure that included apocalypses. Then again, Earth was supposed the new home of the Cybertronians, but they seemed to be mysteriously missing, and, well, Vector was still Cybertronian.

I was pulled out of my ponderings by my systems informing me they'd figured out the console, and I turned my attention to it, now seeing digitally overlaid labels on the buttons. I saw one labeled 'communications' and with an 'AHA!' I hit the button. The screen in the middle of the console blinked on, and presented me with several options. It was extremely user friendly, and I couldn't help but laugh at that as the console essentially walked me through setting up a cross-band transmission.

"Hey, this is me, I'm looking for somebody, anybody, preferably with Energon cuz I'm getting the munchies," I said into the slide-out microphone once the console informed me it was broadcasting. I decided against giving my name unless pressed, since I didn't know how things had unfolded quite yet. There was no response - I hadn't expected one - and the console asked if I wanted to repeat the transmission. I hit 'yes', and it started playing it in a loop.

While it was doing that, I poked around the buttons until I accessed the database. Most of it was apparently fried - someone seemed to have deliberately damaged the databanks, according to damage reports from the shuttle. All core systems were still functional, however, including the sensors, and I used them to scan the base - they were powerful enough to scan the entire thing at once, and get past shielding that my own sensors couldn't.

When I got their report back, I realized it was probably a good thing I had detoured to the shuttle, since the sensors were detecting loose plasma in the command center - it was apparently as good at keeping things in as it was at keeping them out. The plasma was reading as intense enough to have come from the corona of a star. How that was possible, I wasn't sure, so I filed it under 'things to ask the others when I get back' and let it be. I turned my attention, instead, to the ship's logs. They were passworded, and I had just settled into trying to find a way into them anyways when the console beeped, startling me. The communications menu popped up again, informing me I had an incoming transmission. I hit the 'accept' button, and the screen changed, a Cybertronian face appearing.

_"Whoever you are, I hope, for your sake, that -" _the Cybertronian's angry comment was cut off as he stared in shock.

"Hi!" I said, giving a little wave that I hoped was visible.

_"How -"_ the mech on the other end trailed off, then shook his head, beginning again in a much more friendly tone_. "The Sol System is restricted space. How did you get in?"_

"Don't really know," I said with a shrug. "I was going someplace else entirely, and next thing I know, I'm hanging out on Ganymede."

"_Yes, we've traced your signal there. Are you still flight capable?"_ the Cybertronian asked.

"Er - I think so? I had to switch ships," I said, mentally apologizing to Magnus for referring to him, even indirectly, as a 'ship'. "I haven't really figured out this new one yet."

_"We have schematics for most of the technology from the Sol System - if you can find an identifying number or name, we could see what we could pull up to get you out," _the Cybertronian offered. I hesitated only a moment.

"USS Starcaller," I said. The Cybertronian froze for a moment, then turned and said something in some form of bastardized Cybertronian to someone or something I couldn't see. I didn't know Cybertronian myself (yet), but I knew that what the mech on the screen had spoken wasn't it - it was similar in sound, but it wasn't quite the same. I frowned briefly, clearing my expression as he returned his attention to me.

_"It will just take one moment,"_ he said._ "What happened to your old ship?"_

"It didn't like the environment," I said with a shrug. "So I had to ditch it. I was lucky to find this ship."

_"Very. Last reports said the Starcaller was destroyed,"_ the Cybertronian said seriously, then glanced down._ "Ah, here we go. By the way, I'm called Warpchaser."_

"Nice to meet you. I'm..." I hesitated for moment, then continued with a mental shrug. "I'm Terry." Warpchaser smiled, my name evidently not ringing bells, and then he set about talking me through take-off for the ship. After a certain point, it was pretty easy to figure out, and Warpchaser signed off, giving me co-ordinates to meet them at. I agreed to do so, but having the navigation systems figured out by now, I made a slight detour in the direction of Earth - I wanted to give it a quick fly-over. I was unsurprised when I found it completely irradiated, with a spacial anomaly on the surface that I suspected would register as a wormhole if I got more precise readings. I left my destroyed home planet behind and resumed course to the co-ordinates Warpchaser had provided.

I couldn't help but gape a little when Warpchaser's ship came into view - the blasted thing was _huge_. And, according to my readings, riddled with spark energy. A sparked ship. I hailed them as I approached, and was surprised when I got someone besides Warpchaser. The new...being...was neither human nor Cybertronian, and did not look friendly. He looks a bit like a cross between a dwarf and a moth, actually, complete with the antennae, wings, _and_ beard. He snapped a few things as I looked at him blankly, and eventually, looking extremely annoyed, he switched to English.

_"I suggest to don't try anything funny, pirate, or I will be forced to open fire. I assure you that the virus you introduced to my ship to get it to co-operate with you is in the process of being destroyed," _he snapped, a funny slur on his words, as if he were used to speaking more quickly.

"I didn't use a virus," I said blankly.

_"Right, just like you're not using a filter to make yourself look human,"_ he scoffed._ "I suggest you cut the lies, and drop your filter. Let me guess, Kindari?"_

"What's a Kindari?" I asked curiously. The alien on the screen snarled, and the ship suddenly shuddered. The sensors screamed at me that I'd just been shot at - only a warning shot, but still. "Whoa whoa whoa! Let's just take a time out here! I swear to you, I'm _not_ Kindari, whoever the hell they are, and I'm not using a filter! I can prove it, if you'll meet me face-to-face. Or my-face-to-your-security, if you want!" The alien scowled, looking suspicious, then glanced over his shoulder.

_"Activate a tractor beam, bring the ship into our cargo bay. But be _careful _- remember the vessel is a _protected artifact_,"_ the alien snarled, the last said with a pointed glare at me. I just arched an eyebrow at him.

"I'll see you shortly, then," I said, and cut the connection. If he got to be rude, so did I. Frowning once the connection was cut, I reached out with my Cybertronian sensors, scanning until I got a beacon off the ship in front of me. I sent a comm ping and a moment later Warpchaser was on my comms. He apparently _was_ the ship.

_"Primus, I am so sorry, I didn't - wait. How are you contacting me on Cybertronian frequencies?"_ he seemed confused.

"I'm Cybertronian with a human alt form," I told him, deciding to trust him.

_"Oh...OH. That's why you were asking about energon!"_ Warpchaser seemed alarmed at that. _"Why did you send out that beacon?"_

"Because I have no bloody clue what's going on," I said, and hesitated briefly before continuing. "I'm going to be straight with you, Warp - I just time travelled from the early 2000's, AD, Earth timeline. So I'm a little confused as to what's going on." Warpchaser was quiet for a minute, while I watched him grow closer in the shuttle window, the tractor beam moving me very gently around to the cargo bay.

_"Whatever you do, stay in your human alt form,"_ he finally said, slowly. _"I'll cover for you as best I can, but it's going to be up to you to act as human as possible. You _cannot_ let them know you're Cybertronian."_

"Why not?" I asked curiously.

_"Just...trust me. I'll explain it all later,"_ Warpchaser seemed pained. _"I've got to go, they're still scanning my systems, looking for the virus they think you used."_

"They're what?" I couldn't help but be alarmed, but before I could question his further, Warpchaser cut the connection. "Damn." I was left to stew, wondering what could have happened that I was supposed to remain in my human alt form. The few hints I'd gotten didn't seem to spell out anything nice for the Cybertronians either, if the rest were being treated the same way as Warpchaser. He seemed to be in an extremely subordinate position - I was reminded of the Pilots for Leviathan ships in Farscape, in relation to the Peacekeepers. Frowning at that unwelcome connection, I watched as the Starcaller was pulled into Warpchaser's cargo bay and set down gently, then I headed for the exit hatch.

I was unsurprised to have several dozen guns pointed at me the instant the hatch opened, and I stood there, waiting, while the alien from before stared at me in apparent shock.

"This is...impossible," he frowned. "I hate chameleons." I gave him an exasperated look.

"Dude. I'm speaking English, I am physically human, and I'm flying a freaking _human ship out of the human home system._ And you _still_ think I'm pretending?" I exclaimed.

"Humans have been extinct for a thousand years, pirate, so don't you try to argue your way out of this!" the alien snapped, and I stared at him in stunned surprise.

"We...have?" I said - I couldn't say I hadn't been expecting it, but it was still somewhat of a surprise. "Well crap." The alien frowned at me, but then his expression hardened, and he started speaking again, this time in the language he'd spoken when he'd first contacted me. I just stared at him blankly, and he seemed to get more and more frustrated. It eventually got to the point where he was practically shouting at me. The aliens holding the guns, I saw, where looking a bit uncertain now, and then someone new entered the cargo bay, trotting over to our little group. He spoke quietly to the guy who was apparently in charge, and the two turned to look at me, the one guy looking stunned, the other curious.

"Lemme guess. He just told you I'm telling the truth?" I asked sweetly.

"My...apologies. Apparently you are, as you say, human," The alien looked like he had to literally force those words out. "I am Captain T'ral of the Sparkship Warpchaser. I welcome you aboard, Holy One." Then they all bowed.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** Not mine!

**A/N: **Fun fact: my spellcheck had "persnickety" in it. ^.^ Enjoy the extra update to make up for being silly, and do remember to review!

**- Chapter 7 -**

I did my best to keep a straight face as they bowed, while frantically pinging Warpchaser, wanting to know what the hell was going on. He didn't reply, so I summoned up every bit of acting ability that I'd cultivated since I met Magnus and decided to wing it.

"Your apologies are accepted. As you said, my species _is_ supposed to be extinct," I said with a nod. "However, my journey here has been long and tiring, the argument with you even more so. I would like some sustenance and rest, if you don't mind." I did my best to not be over the top, not knowing how far the 'holy one' thing stretched. Apparently I didn't blow it, either, as Captain T'ral was quickly falling all over himself to get me accommodations. I was led through the ship, the security guards now my escort, to extremely large quarters. After some more blustering my way through things, Captain T'ral finally left, and I asked Warpchaser to lock the door so only I could open it. He did so quickly, and I turned to the food that had been left. It was all organic, unfortunately. And it didn't look the least bit appetizing, fortunately.

"Warp, is there any way you can get me some energon?" I asked tiredly, aware that my reserves were starting to run out.

_"There's a line behind the wall panel beside the door - if you give me a moment, I can route some pure energon there and you can tap the line,"_ Warpchaser replied over the intercom.

"Er - you're going to have to explain how," I said.

_"I know...Terry," _The way he said my name made me frown.

"What did you find in your databanks about me?" I asked.

_"Very little. The details of Cybertronian/Human history has mostly been lost, but there is a reference to you, and your relationship with Ultra Magnus."_ He said Magnus' name almost reverently, and I frowned.

"I'm going to take a wild guess and assume that all the Cybertronians I knew are long gone," I said.

_"Mostly,"_ Warpchaser admitted readily. _"It's - hm. Interesting."_

"What?" I asked curiously.

_"Apparently I have a message for you. From you,"_ Warpchaser seemed confused. _"It was buried deep in my operational code, it just popped up now."_

"Well, I do seem to have a thing for leaving myself messages, so I'm not surprised," I said with a sigh. "Why don't you play it for me while you sort out the energon?"

"_Of course,"_ Warpchaser said courteously. A console across the room blinked on, and then the lights dimmed.

_"Privacy mode activated,"_ an emotionless voice, entirely unlike Warpchaser's, intoned, and then...I, in Cybertronian form...appeared on the screen.

_"Apologize to Warp for me once this is done for that, willya? I wanted to figure out a way to ask him to activate privacy mode before playing this, but couldn't figure out how,"_ I said on the screen as I, in the room, walked over to the console. _"Alrighty, question answering time! Told as concisely as possible: a few Cybertronians besides Magnus fell in love with humans, and eventually, thanks to your advanced body, Ratchet and Wheeljack figured out how to give those Cybertronians human alt forms. Thing is, humanity as a whole still didn't know about Cybertronians, and when they finally did find out, they were none too impressed about the human alt forms. Oh, the majority of the planet understood, of course, but you know our species - we always have extremists. Unfortunately, the anti-Cybertronian extremists had nukes. Yeah, that's right, we humans nuked our own planet over the presence of Cybertronians that look like humans._

_"The Cybertronians did what they could, evacuating most of the planet, but unfortunately they were having some interstellar troubles of their own - the Quintessons. Actually, they were why the Earth at large was told. The governments of Earth wanted to get out into space and help the Cybertronians, who had been such good allies up till that point - and, conveniently, had offered them a jump-start on technology to help. Needless to say, the humans didn't end up helping much. We ended up in a complete role reversal, in fact, with the Cybertronians giving _humanity_ sanctuary and a new home. With that additional strain on their resources, the Cybertronians started losing the war with the Quintessons._

_"Enter the Pandalaths. Call them Pandas if you want - they won't get the joke, and it'll give you some minor amusement. They're the guys you met earlier. They've pretty much got the mentality of the Dominion in Star Trek, only without the whole shapechanger thing. And their prejudice isn't against 'solids'...it's against mechanoid life forms. They took on the Quintessans and pushed them out of this arm of the galaxy, leaving only the Cybertronians and the few human survivors. Now, here's a reason to smack Optimus when you see him again - he'd done his research and knew what the Pandalaths were like, so when they showed up on the main Cybertronian/Human settlement, he ordered the Cybertronians to pretend to be subservient to the humans. Nobody was pleased about it, but it kept us from being wiped out from orbit._

_"Unfortunately, the nuclear winter on Earth had happened so quickly that most of Earth's survivors had been exposed to radiation fallout. That, combined with a few other factors, had rendered them all sterile. So we were all living on borrowed time, trying to figure out how to get the Cybertronians away from the Pandalaths before the last of the humans died, and the Pandalaths took over 'mastery' of the Cybertronians."_ The me on the screen paused here. _"Needless to say, we didn't succeed. The last ditch effort was when I remembered the Allspark I'd left on the moon. We decided to make a run with it, head for another galaxy and start New Cybertron. Magnus, me, Beachcomber, and Mirage were chosen to go, mostly due to lack of other options - we wanted Optimus to go, but we knew the Pandalaths wouldn't let him escape with the Matrix of Leadership. They were aware he had it, and that it was powerful, and part of their reverence for Humans comes from our supposed ability to 'control' him, even with the Matrix._

_"The plasma fire in the command center at Ganymede is what's left of Optimus - he made a mighty fine distraction, drawing the Pandalaths main fleet there, where he promptly blew himself up. Apparently exploded Prime equals plasma fire that burns for thousands of years. Who knew? And the Matrix, last I knew, was still whole inside the fire. Good luck getting it out, though."_ The me on the screen laughed bitterly, then shook her head. _"Now onto the fun part - the reason the Pandalaths consider Humans 'Holy Ones'._

_"The shuttle carrying the new Allspark didn't make it out of the galaxy. Optimus's distraction didn't work. The Pandalaths caught us. In desperation, Magnus had me transform into my human form and claim that we were bringing the Allspark to the Pandalaths as a gift. They saw through the lie, of course, since we'd been heading in the opposite direction. They didn't accuse me, however, blaming Magnus, Beachcomber, and Mirage for trying to kidnap me."_ The me on the screen fell silent. _"They executed them in front of me. As a _gift_. After that, I didn't care. I gave them the Allspark, told them to use it to advance their technology. To be honest, I was hoping they'd create an army of monsters that would destroy them from the inside. Instead, they managed to enslave an entire generation of Cybertronians._

_"So now, here I am, having reached the absolute end of a human lifecycle, and I can't stay with the Pandalaths any longer without them becoming suspicious. Warpchaser won't remember it - they wipe the memory cores of their self-aware technology every five or ten years - but I'm actually onboard him right now. In the same room as you are, in fact. And I'm recording this with the intent that you _change_ things. And find out what the hell happened to Vector Prime, because nobody's seen him, and he really should have poked his nose into things long before it got to this point._

_"Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go shoot myself into a sun." _The me on the screen sighed, and I suddenly realized just how worn she was. Then she transformed, and instead of a Cybertronian face far too close to the screen, I saw an old woman, who looked even more drained and sad than her Cybertronian counterpart, and she reached up and flicked the screen off.

"_Privacy mode deactivating,"_ the voice intoned, and then the lights in my quarters resumed to full strength.

_"That's odd, the file doesn't seem to want to play,"_ Warpchaser said, and it took me a moment to realize that privacy mode probably stopped Warpchaser from even noticing that it was on, distracting him elsewhere until it was deactivated.

"It played, Warp. It activated privacy mode. The other me apologizes for that," I said softly. "Is that energon re-routed yet?"

_"Uh - yes,"_ Warpchaser said after a moment.

"Good, walk me through getting it," I told him, wanting something to distract me from what I'd just heard. Warpchaser fortunately didn't asked questions - had probably been programmed not to, I realized with a grimace - and I was left to think about it myself as I drank the energon Warpchaser guided me to get. The food on the table he helped me incinerate, and then I settled down for a sleepless night, after Warpchaser informed me that there were orders not to disturb me for another nine hours.

* * *

The next morning, Captain T'Ral was all over himself apologizing to me, and I suspected he'd been raked over the coals by his superiors. He informed me that another ship would be coming to escort me to the homeworld, and as much as I wanted to insist that I stay on Warpchaser, there was no reason I could use to object, so I agreed. I apologized to Warpchaser later, but he seemed to understand.

The new ship arrived later the next day, with official looking Pandalaths on it. It was another sparked ship, and Warpchaser assured me that it had agreed to continue to help cover for me - to a casual scan, I appeared human, but the type of scans they'd had him running on me, apparently, would have picked me out as Cybertronian in a moment. I thanked him, and asked him to thank the new ship as well, then went and put my recent practice meeting government types on Earth to good use. Now having the appropriate background information, I was able to hold my own well enough. I was transferred to the other ship, leaving the Starcaller for Captain T'Ral to put back on Ganymede, and then we were on our way. The three day journey to the so-called Homeworld was full of official dinners and discussions about how much my presence meant to the Pandalath people. It was tedious and boring.

Once we reached the planet, I discovered to my chagrin that there was a parade in the main city in my honor. I didn't find out until after it was over that the ending point was at the Allspark complex, however. Which was probably good, because as soon as the Allspark came into view, I felt something begin humming inside me. I realized then that the reason the future me hadn't told me about how I got back was because the way home was going to be literally dumped in my lap.

There was a crowd of thousands all around me, watching with excitement as I left the official delegation behind and walked over to the Allspark, looking up at it. It was suspended in the air a good twenty feet, the only access being through the sides and the tops. They'd turned it into a monument of sorts, with simple access hatchways to gain its life-giving properties hidden from view. Behind me, I heard one of the officials begin to give a grand speech.

I smiled to myself, then turned back to the Allspark and activated my transformation sequence. I heard the panic starting, but as soon as my upstretched hand touched the Allspark, energy crackled around me and the world disappeared.

* * *

When I reappeared, I was in the middle of the Ganymede base's landing strip for spacecraft, and there was panic of a different sort, revolving around Vector and Magnus. Ratchet, Ironhide, and Optimus were there, as well, apparently having bridged up from Earth in the time I'd been gone. Magnus was still unconscious, but with Ratchet there, he wasn't my primary concern at the moment.

"You!" I snapped, and pounced on Vector, much to the surprise of everyone.

"Er - hi," Vector said, looking surprised once again to see me. I frowned.

"Why are you surprised to see me? For that matter, why were you surprised to see me and Magnus in the future? You're the freaking Guardian of Space and Time, you shouldn't be surprised by _anything_," I accused. "Also, why the hell aren't you off doing something about the nukes and the Pandalaths!"

"Um..." Vector looked uncomfortable, and I narrowed my optics at him.

"Ironhide, you have stasis cuffs, right?" I asked, noticing the weapons specialist in the background.

"Uh..." he seemed as coherent as Vector.

"Gimme!" I ordered, holding out a hand imperatively. Ironhide supplied them, more out of habit at following orders than anything else I think, and he seemed surprised when I cuffed Vector to me. "You're sticking with me until you answer my questions. But that'll have to wait, because I want to know how Magnus is." The last was said pointedly in Ratchet's direction.

"He's fine, but he's radioactive and his systems have gotten a jolt. What the frag happened? I thought you were bridging to San Francisco, not here!" Ratchet snapped.

"We were, but something interfered and we got sent to the future. Vector came and picked Magnus up, because he wouldn't have lived very long in the environment we landed in, but I took a bit of a detour before...finding a way back," I explained briefly, stopping myself just before saying I'd used the Allspark. "Also, picked up some interesting information along the way. Shall we move this to a more appropriate venue now?"

"You're in a mood," Ratchet observed, seeming amused.

"As I said, I got some interesting information," I said grouchily. I thought I'd had time to process the message I'd left myself, but seeing everyone again...suddenly made it hit home. The Autobots had made me feel at home and relatively normal - it was unsettling to know they were all destined to die rather horribly if things didn't change.

"Have the last of the humans left?" Ratchet asked.

"Yeah, saw them off m'self," Ironhide said with a 'hmph', eyeing me as if he wasn't sure what to make of me right now.

"Good, we can move Magnus into the med bay then. I need to replace some of his parts, and give him a good dousing in anti-radiation foam," Ratchet said.

"You have anti-radiation foam?" I asked, bizarrely amused by that.

"Radiation isn't nearly as dangerous to us as it is to humans, but it still tends to frag with our more delicate systems if we're exposed to enough of it, as Magnus has been," Ratchet said as he co-ordinated with Optimus and Ironhide to start moving Magnus. "I'd be interested in where you went in the future that had enough radiation to do this, in fact."

"Earth," I said softly, then ignoring the surprised looks of the conscious mechs, I turned and dragged Vector into the base with me.

* * *

It was several long hours before Ratchet had fixed up Magnus, and by then I was going out of my shiny new CPU, trying to think things through, to figure out what the heck was going on. Vector just silently watched me, seeming more than a little freaked out, but I wasn't ready to answer, or ask, any questions yet. I wanted to wait until Magnus woke up.

Fortunately it seemed that, as Ratchet said, getting an overdose of radiation isn't nearly as serious for Cybertronians as it is for humans. Two hours, a few replaced parts, some anti-radiation foam and a thorough cleaning later, and Magnus was up and at it again, none the worse for the wear. Well, until I catapulted into him when Ratchet finally let him out of the med bay. With Vector still attached to me.

"Terry -" Magnus was half exasperated and half amused.

"Have I mentioned that you're not allowed to get killed? Cuz you're not," I told him sternly as I stepped away. "And you're definitely not allowed to get executed. So don't even think about it."

"What?" Magnus asked, looking confused.

"I'll explain, come on," I said, grabbing Magnus and hauling him along behind me. Vector came too, of course. Ratchet followed behind us and seemed quite amused, judging from his snickers - but I suppose we must have made quite the sight, with my petite femme form towing two large mechs through the hallways. Fortunately, it wasn't far to the conference room, where Optimus said he and the other senior officers - aka, Ironhide and Prowl - would be waiting. They had other business to discuss, but were willing to have it interrupted to hear my explanation. The three mechs in the conference room fell silent as I entered with my little entourage, and there was a brief scramble as we all got settled. Ironhide ended up having to stand - the room was meant for small conferences, and the bigger one wasn't finished yet.

"I'm glad to see you up and about, Magnus," Optimus said with a nod.

"Up and being dragged about, you mean," Magnus said dryly, then gave me a curious look. "What happened?"

"We'd all like to know that," Optimus said, giving me an expectant look. I straightened in my chair, then, and began explaining, starting with the strange readings I got and the funky space bridge. They were quite curious at first, asking lots of questions, and then I got to the part where I realized Magnus and I had shown up on a nuked Earth. They fell silent as I described the future, including the message from my future self. I got very quiet myself, when I related the part about Magnus being executed in front of my future self, and Magnus reached over and rested a hand on my shoulder.

Through the whole explanation, Vector was listening with fascination, clearly hearing it all for the first time, and very interested. He frowned when I mentioned him, and my future self telling me to find out what happened to him, but provided no answers as I spoke. Once I finished, though, I turned to him.

"So? What do you have to say for yourself?" I asked him, frowning. Vector shrugged.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to be doing. I just found out I could open time bridges today," he said, then grinned widely. "It's pretty awesome, though." I stared at him.

"How old are you?" Optimus suddenly asked, seeming weary, and Vector made a 'who, me?' motion. Optimus nodded.

"I've been online three vorns," Vector replied. I knew enough about Cybertronian time measurements to know that meant that he was, relatively speaking, very young. Still much older than me, but for a Cybertronian, he was young.

"Wonderful," I said after a pause, turning to the others. "So if we got a young Vector, does that mean that the older versions weren't available? And if so, what happened to them?"

"I don't know," Optimus said with a shake of his head.

"I do," Ironhide rumbled, and all attention turned to him. The weapons specialist was focused on me, though. "All of this started going funny after you showed up. We hadn't even heard about the supposed weapon on the moon until after you arrived in our reality, and you've admitted that your future self used time travel. Now our Guardian of Space and Time is out of commission, and am I the only one who thinks it's a coincidence that this happens shortly after he meets you? You messed with the timeline somehow, and it's screwing up our future!" The accusation was harsh, and Magnus immediately began to protest. I let him, my optics locked with Ironhide's as I thought about his words. He was right, I knew.

"Why?" I finally spoke, interrupting Magnus, and attention turned to me. "I mean, I get what you're saying, and I actually think you're onto something there. But why would I mess with the timeline? The reason I hate time travel in the first place is because I know, at least in theory, how persnickety it is. Change the tiniest thing, and it could have far-reaching effects. So why would I get messed up in it?"

"Beats me," Ironhide muttered, seemingly startled out of his accusational mood by me agreeing with him.

"Something big had to have been at stake. Either that or someone did some fancy convincing," I turned to frown at Vector.

"I never saw you before today," he said with a shrug.

"It could easily have been something - some_one_ - else that changed the timeline, Terry," Magnus said with irritation.

"No, Ironhide is right. All signs point back to me. I seem to be at the center of this all, fouling it all up," I said, then turned to Prowl. "By the way, what was going on in San Francisco?"

"San Francisco?" Prowl looked surprised. "When?"

"When Magnus and I bridged. I'd picked up something in San Francisco - what was it?" I asked curiously.

"I'm not certain, one moment," Prowl frowned, picking up a few datapads and tapping at them. After a moment, he set them down. "Nothing was reported."

"Really?" I frowned, then turned to Ratchet. "Is there a way I can, like, send my sensor logs to someone?" Ratchet chuckled, then sent me a set of instructions, and I packaged up my sensor logs from before Magnus' and my bridge and sent them to Prowl. He frowned, then looked over at Vector in surprise.

"Those are the same readings we got when Vector bridged onto the moon," he said.

"But Vector was bridging in from the...future..." I frowned. "Does radiation mess with space bridges?"

"It can, but normally it will just destabilize the bridge, preventing it from forming," Ratchet said.

"What about a time bridge?" I asked.

"I haven't the slightest idea," Ratchet replied, arching an optics ridge and turning to look at Vector.

"Ditto," the young prime said, shrugging.

"Ripples. When you showed up on the future Earth, you said something about ripples?" I said, looking at Vector curiously.

"Oh, yeah, I was getting ready for my first jump when I saw these ripples in the timeline. I was looking closer at them, and then next thing I knew, I was in the future, with you two," Vector said. "I don't know how, but I knew you weren't supposed to be there, which was why I asked you why you were there."

"Erg. This is all tied together somehow, but I can't figure out how," I said with a groan.

"I suggest we focus on one part of it at a time," Prowl said logically. "The most obvious part is Vector. What will happen to him to prevent him from protecting our future?" Silence.

"Well, he could die. Or have his time-jumping thingy damaged," I said finally.

"It did give me an error when I jumped back," Vector said.

"Run this diagnostic, then give me the results," Ratchet said, and there was a moment silence. "It's broken." Ratchet declared.

"Where did you get that diagnostic?" Vector asked, looking confused.

"You, in a roundabout way. The future you gave it to the first medics, and we've handed it down," Ratchet said.

"If it still exists, then Vector doesn't stop time jumping completely," Prowl pointed out.

"True," Ratchet mused. "Which means he just isn't doing anything to prevent the future. Which could be the result of the break. I don't understand the physics of it myself, but the diagnostic program is flagging the problem as urgent and must fix immediately."

"Can you fix it?" Optimus asked.

"No. Not with our current resources," Ratchet said with a shake of his head. "Our technology right now might not even be advanced enough even if I had a full manufacturing lab. The problem is with the actual time-bridge mechanism - it seems to have physically broken, and apparently did so mid-jump. I'm not even sure how to fix it, to be honest."

"He doesn't happen to use anything weird like chronotron particles or something that could be, I dunno, leaking out and polluting the timeline, preventing his future self from jumping to this point?" I asked, vaguely remembering some Star Trek episode about that. Ratchet just shrugged.

"I don't know," he said. "Wheeljack might be able to figure it out, but we still haven't heard from him. For the time being, Vector is stuck here, though."

"And possibly causing irreparable damage to the timeline," Prowl said with a frown.

"Possibly," Ratchet conceded.

"Great," Vector grumbled. "My first time jump and I break my time bridge and mess up the timeline."

"I thought we'd concluded that the timeline is my fault?" I said with a snort.

"Which brings us to the second problem," Prowl said. "What would cause you to change the timeline?"

"Universe or world ending problems," I said with a frown. "Nothing less."

"And of what use would it be in preventing that to give you a mechanoid body?" Prowl asked. I glanced over at Magnus.

"I'm not sure me gaining a mechanoid body have anything to do with it," I said slowly.

"Oh?" Prowl asked, and I looked up at Optimus.

"There was an Allspark in the tube with this body. A small one, but still an Allspark." Utter silence around the table.

"And you're just telling us this now _why?_" Ratchet growled, leaning forward to glare at me.

"I didn't think it was time to tell you. I still don't think it is, but something has gotten horribly fucked up, and we need all the facts if we're going to sort this out," I said calmly.

"Still don't think - when _were_ you going to tell us? When we fought ourselves to extinction?" Ratchet demanded.

"I was hoping the war would end before then, and _then_ I'd tell you," I replied, scowling.

"And what if you died between now and then?" Ratchet replied.

"I knew about it," Magnus rumbled, glaring at Ratchet. "Don't take your anger out on her, Ratchet. We all know that this war will continue as long as Megatron knows there's an Allspark to fight over. She made the choice any of us would have." Ratchet muttered something, which caused Optimus to look at him sharply, and Vector to look uncomfortable.

"Do I want to know what he just called me?" I asked dryly.

"No," Magnus replied, glaring at Ratchet.

"So you send an Allspark back in time to prevent some cataclysmic event," Prowl said, clearly trying to get the discussion back on track. "The destruction of our race, perhaps?"

"Maybe," I said with a shrug. "I mean, sending the Allspark back in time would certainly help with that."

"In which case, maybe we _should_ reveal its existence," Prowl pondered.

"No," Optimus countered sharply. "That Allspark remains hidden until Megatron is dead."

"And future me would know that's your opinion, so why send it back?" I asked.

"Perhaps giving yourself a mechanoid body did have some purpose, after all?" Prowl suggested.

"Like what?" I asked, letting my confusion show. "There's really only one reason I can think of, and - well, that's not exactly universe-ending important." Magnus and I pointedly didn't look at each other, while the others looked amused - well, except for Vector, who just looked confused.

"Ratchet has said that your body is technologically advanced. Perhaps that is the key?" Prowl said after a moment.

"If I wanted to send technology back in time - and that's a big 'if' - I wouldn't think I'd need to be occupying the body to do it," I said dubiously.

"No, but perhaps you decided to do yourself a favour while you were already time travelling?" Ratchet suggested, eyeing me consideringly.

"Yeah, but - no offence - I hate labs and doctors. I wouldn't be doing myself a _favour_," I said with a frown.

"Well, short of finding your future self and _asking_ her..." Ratchet grumbled, glaring at me again.

"Perhaps we should take a step back for a moment," Prowl suggested. "We have two possible apocalypses in the future. One causes Vector and Terry to send an Allspark and a mechanoid body back in time, and the other that was caused by them doing just that. We know why the second apocalypse hasn't been fixed - Vector's unable to time bridge, and the current future Terry is dead." There was a pause, and then I frowned.

"Why hasn't the universe imploded at that paradox?" I asked.

"Paradox?" Magnus asked curiously.

"The Allspark and mechanoid body shouldn't exist anymore if the future's changed so that she never goes back in time to make them," Vector unexpectedly piped up.

"Bingo," I said. "Humans call it a grandfather paradox. If you go back in time and kill your grandfather, you'll never be born, so you can't go back in time and kill your grandfather, but then you'll be born to go back in time and kill your grandfather, etc etc. In my case, I went back in time to drop off the Allspark and body, but in doing so, changed it so that future never happened, and thus the body and Allspark were never sent back in time, which means that future _did _happen...etc etc." There was silence around the room, either as the Autobots tried to absorb what I'd said, or come up with a reason for why the universe hadn't imploded.

"What if the body and the Allspark weren't placed in the future?" Prowl mused.

"The body is technologically advanced, and I don't remember being on the moon before that day," I pointed out.

"Yes, but you said Vector had a hand in it," Prowl said. "So what if we get his time bridge fixed, he gets the body from the future - no. According to your information from the future, we essentially die out." Prowl frowned.

"No, you just stop advancing on your own," I said slowly. "And you're not _extinct_, you're just _enslaved_ - which you can, and have, broken free of before."

"So Vector gets the body in the future, uses what he learns of you now, and makes the facility on the moon, and the second Allspark," Prowl said, continuing his interrupted thought with the new information.

"The FAQ on the terminal said I built the facility," I said thoughtfully. "But I wouldn't put it passed myself to say that just for dramatic effect. So would this mean that the apocalypse that the Allspark and this body were built for is the Pandalaths? I mean, maybe in the original timeline, Cybertronians and Humans end up almost wiped out by them, and so Vector gets this advanced body and the Allspark so that you can survive. I doubt my future self would have managed to stay hidden long enough to protect and eventually reveal the Allspark without having a far more advanced body."

"So instead of being wiped out, we're just enslaved for who knows how long. And the human race is killed off," Ratchet said, sounding none too impressed.

"Well, it's a _better_ solution, if not the _best,_" I said with a frown.

"I don't think that's right," Vector said, sounding uncertain, and everyone turned to look at him. "It just...seems wrong."

"Well, it's the best theory we've got," I said. "I think our goal right now, then, should be trying to get Vector's time-bridge fixed."

"That could take decades," Ratchet commented.

"Obviously not, because the humans will blow themselves up by then, and I was looking for Vector in the future, implying he wasn't still there," I pointed out.

"Very well, we'll make fixing Vector's space bridge a priority. Ratchet, I'll leave it in your capable hands to find Wheeljack. Everyone else, see if you can find anything else that could help," Optimus said, standing from the table.

"You _want_ me to find him?" Ratchet said with mock incredulity, then grinned, clearly looking forward to tracking down the mech. He left in a far better mood than most of the participants of the meeting.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** Not mine!

**A/N:** Sorry for the delay in posting. This chapter is a bit angsty, and was difficult to get written. Still, please review and tell me what you think.

**- Chapter 8 -**

I spent a fair amount of time with Vector over the next few days, mostly because neither of us had much to do at the moment, so we banded together to relieve the boredom. Also, the other Autobots were still not quite sure what to do about me, and all of the officers except Magnus had gone back to Earth. So I could either hang out with Vector, or pester Magnus until he started making pointed comments about how I had certain personality traits in common with his brother. Not that it was a hardship to hang out with Vector - he was actually quite fun, if a bit socially inept. I chalked that up to his age, as he seemed to be equivalent to a human pre-teen - a rather innocent pre-teen, as he proved one day when we were watching Cliffjumper on the firing range.

"What does 'frag' mean?" The question from Vector was entirely unexpected as Cliffjumper missed his target and started cursing. I simply stared at Vector for a moment once his question registered, and then I chuckled.

"Oh my. There have been some gaps in your education, haven't there?" I said, and Vector gave me a curious look. I spent the rest of the afternoon explaining cursing to him, and listing off curse words and phrases. I recommended that he not use them until he got a feel for them, suggesting listening to the other Autobots first for appropriate usage, and then someone like Magnus for quantity of usage, as opposed to Ironhide (or me). Vector absorbed it like a sponge, and took my advice to spark. I felt like a proud mother a few days later when he flawlessly started slipping 'frag's, 'glitch's, and 'slag's into his vocabulary. I doubt anyone else noticed it, but I was terribly amused by it.

Our fun was ruined after a week, though - Prowl, visiting from Earth, commented in front of Magnus that he was surprised we hadn't found anything to do, and afterwards, Magnus made a suggestion that maybe Vector and I could do some 'odd jobs' around the base. I pouted a bit, but I knew it was fair, and between me now being Cybertronian in form, and Vector's presence, any of Magnus's feared possible negative backlash from the Autobots that weren't cleared to go to Earth was essentially negated. Most of the odd jobs Magnus found for us were simple enough, anyways. Mostly errand running, or - since Vector had a larger frame and good hydraulics to go behind it - moving supplies around.

Our moving of supplies was how we found The Lounge. Technically it was just spare storage space right now, intended to be converted to VIP quarters once the base was more finished. To Vector and I, that seemed like an awful waste of the space. It was a half-dome in shape, with large windows that looked out over Ganymede, the only part of the base visible being part of the airfield, where the Ark still rested. The windows had some odd breaks in them, since the area was intended to be split into two or three human-height levels, but the breaks didn't detract from the view.

"With some chairs and the right coat of paint, this could make an awesome lounge." My comment was what started The Lounge, voiced after Vector and I had packed away some items we'd be given to put into storage in the room.

"Lounge?" Vector asked curiously.

"Sort of a relaxed, classier version of a bar. More expensive drinks, soothing music, and dim lighting to make it seem all intimate. Some place where you can go with friends to have a quiet conversation and a few drinks after work and unwind. If you're into the quiet thing," I explained. "I'm thinking, booths by the windows, with some type of decoration between them - plants, or maybe crystals or something for you guys. Tables in the center of the room, couches along the back with coffee tables, some arranged into bigger seating areas for larger groups. Maybe an energon dispenser by the door there. Dim the lights, install some speakers for some relaxing music, give it a darker coat of paint - it would be perfect!"

"I didn't know you were an interior designer," Vector said with a grin.

"I'm not," I said wryly. "It actually reminds me of a lounge back home - they had a grand piano in the middle with a singer, and the back wall was half bar, but it was a semi-circle just like this. I spent all my spare time for a few weeks in that lounge - at one point." I stopped myself from saying that I'd spent it studying for a midterm. For some reason, the lounge back home - my real home - had been particularly good for studying Ancient Greek.

"Well, you're the one with an in with the base commander, maybe you should suggest a change of purpose for the space." Vector said with a smirk. I'm not sure he entirely understood the Cybertronian 'birds and the bees' yet, but he knew about choosing mates, and understood that Magnus and I were close enough to a pair in that regard. He was also getting frighteningly good at innuendo, and I suspected the other mechs on base had something to do with that. I suspected the innuendo worked so well because most of what he heard was aimed at Magnus and I in the first place, but hey.

Regardless, I did actually bring up the idea with Magnus, and he said he'd think about it. Which, of course, meant that he'd confer with Prowl, who was the one that had designed the Ganymede base. Prowl evidently saw something of merit in the idea, as when he visited Ganymede for what I was quickly realizing was his weekly status report, he asked Vector and I to show him the room and explain what we had in mind.

Vector and I had been perfecting the design for it over the past few days, as it happened. We'd been hoping for a favourable response, but it was also something to keep us entertained as we ran around doing our 'odd jobs'. So we had plenty of ideas for Prowl, including how to make it friendly to both humans and Cybertronians, something which seemed to tip it over the edge for him, going from 'interesting prospect' to 'good idea'. He said he knew a different place they could put VIP quarters, and put us in charge of seeing that The Lounge got constructed.

"Wait, what?" I yelped when he dropped that on us.

"It's your idea. I hardly think anyone else could do it justice. Besides, between the two of you, I'm sure you'll be better able to come up with a space acceptable to both humans and Cybertronians," Prowl explained logically. Never mind the fact that Vector had no idea what a modern Cybertronian would like, and I was a bit of an odd-ball for a human.

"But - how?" I asked, looking around in dismay. I could do the planning, sure, but actually putting it together? I only knew where the paint was kept around here because I'd had to put some away, and I had no idea where most of the stuff even came from in the first place.

"Requisition the materials and mechs you require from Ultra Magnus, then arrange them as you described," Prowl said, looking amused. "I'm sure you'll have no trouble." He was gone before I could protest more.

"I'm never coming up with a good idea ever again," I told Vector solemnly, and he snickered.

"Right," he said, then suddenly frowned. "Wait. This means we're going to have to move all this stuff back _out_, aren't we?" I groaned as I realized he was right, and we turned to look mournfully at all the supplies we'd recently had to store in the room.

Magnus, at least, was more helpful than Prowl once we got down to business. He helped a fair bit in figuring out what and who we would need, dropping our 'odd job do-ers' status so we could work on The Lounge - the name had become pretty much official, once it got around what Vector and I were doing. Also, mechs started stopping by with suggestions. Many of the ideas we discarded, already having a set vision of the place, but some of them helped. Sunstreaker, visiting with Sideswipe, actually made the very good observation that we had everything set up for group seating, but what if someone wanted to just sit by themselves? We set up a few solitary corners, big enough for only one or two mechs. Sunstreaker didn't stop by again to approve of the new little cubbyholes, but considering that one of them had a beautiful view of both Ganymede and the room itself, I figured he would appreciate them.

We'd finished the first week of work on The Lounge, with most of the framework done and the decorations left, when Optimus called a meeting. He did that a lot, actually, but this one Vector and I were invited to, and the officers bridged in from Earth to hold it on Ganymede, so I figured it was something important, relating to my trip to the future. Fortunately, this time we didn't have to squeeze into a small conference room without enough seating - the larger conference room had been finished this last week, and we settled into it with room to spare.

"We have a problem," was Optimus's opening comment once we were all seated. Walking to the front of the room, hit activated a large screen on the wall there, and it began displaying a video, featuring what looked like your typical human interrogation room, with a guy in army fatigues looking a bit wild-eyed sitting in a chair, a table in front of him with a plate of donuts and a coffee. He wasn't cuffed, but there was no one in the room with him, questions being asked through a speaker on the wall. At first they were just basic questions - name (John Samson), rank (corporal in the USAF), division (NEST), birthday (October 4th), etc. Then they got into the interesting questions, which were apparently about something he saw.

"_It was so - so huge! And black, entirely black, maybe metal I don't know. It was like the Decepticon from hell - it was even on fire. Fire from it's eyes, from its chest, all over. But it was so, sosososo, so cold. And it's eyes -"_ The corporal shuddered. _"It destroyed the entire block. Just looked at it and the block blew up, everyone still inside screaming - and the screams! They weren't normal, they were unholy, as if they were being dragged down to hell."_ He shuddered again.

_"Did the Decepticon give you a name?"_ the voice asked.

_"Oh no, nonononono, you don't understand, it wasn't a Decepticon. It was like one, but it was far more evil. The Decepticons, they're just fighting for their side of a war, y'know? But this thing? It was just killing because it could. Because it _wanted to_. There was nothing personal, it was just destroying things. Like it had a bad day and wanted to squish some ants to feel better,"_ the corporal said earnestly.

_"And it didn't given you a name?"_ the voice said curiously.

_"It - it called itself -"_ the corporal suddenly broke off, going into convulsions, and started spouting gibberish, which sounded vaguely like Cybertronian. Two heavily armored men entered the room and subdued him, and just before the camera shut off, he looked straight at the camera and whispered something. The screen went black, and there was silence in the room for the moment.

"He gave the name at the end. He said it was -"

"The Fallen," I whispered, still staring at the screen in shock, only vaguely aware that I now had the attention of the entire room.

"Yes, exactly," Optimus confirmed with a frown. "Which was why Corporal Samson's superior's initially dismissed his account - he's been a part of NEST since before the events in Egypt, and they figured it was post-traumatic stress. They had trouble ignoring the block of San Francisco that was destroyed, however."

"San Francisco?" I asked, snapping my gaze to Optimus, who nodded.

"The disturbance your sensors picked up. Corporal Samson was on vacation there, when this Cybertronian showed up, destroyed a block of the city, and then disappeared. The only reason we heard about it was because Prowl started asking questions about the specific time and place your sensor logs provided him with," Optimus said.

"I realized there was something unusual when an entire block of unconnected buildings, right at the co-ordinates you provided, supposedly spontaneously imploded without damaging any other buildings. The government blamed it on structural failure caused by earthquakes, but the buildings on that block weren't all built by the same company, or even at the same time, and similar buildings nearby were completely fine," Prowl put in.

"So? Optimus killed the Fallen. Maybe this Samson guy got glitched and blew them up himself," Ironhide said with a frown. Optimus looked hesitant.

"The Fallen Optimus killed wasn't actually the Fallen," I said for him, and Optimus nodded.

"He just took the name to inspire fear. Gradually, over time, the one he took the name from dropped out of common knowledge, and the Fallen Prime became known as the Fallen," Optimus said.

"How do you know this?" Ironhide demanded, turning to me. I stared up at him.

"I don't. Know that, at least. I just know who the Fallen that is black and on fire is," I said.

"And who is he?" Ironhide asked. I glanced at Optimus, who looked back at me. We both seemed reluctant to say it.

"He's the herald of Unicron," Optimus said finally.

"Unicron doesn't exist," Prowl said, seeming automatic. Vector snorted.

"Like frag he doesn't," he said, and all attention turned to him.

"You've seen Unicron?" I asked him, oddly amused.

"Well, yeah. All of the first thirteen have," Vector said in a 'no duh' tone of voice.

"You're one of the first thirteen?" Optimus asked blankly. Vector suddenly went very still.

"Oops," he said in a small voice. Optimus sighed.

"Well, it's not like most historians haven't already theorized that you are," he said. "Be glad you let that slip _here_, among friends." Vector squirmed in his chair. Apparently he wasn't supposed to share that little tidbit.

"Wait, so according to my recently learned Cybertronian history, if you're one of the first thirteen, your jump here was your first time jump, and you're only three vorns old..." I trailed off. "The only other Cybertronians you met before us were the other twelve of the first thirteen, weren't they?"

"Yeah," Vector seemed to shrink in his chair.

"Oi vey," I said with a sigh, much of Vector's social ineptitude - and his lack of knowledge about curses - suddenly making sense. I wondered briefly if this meant I'd essentially introduced cursing to the Cybertronian people. Wouldn't Ironhide love _that_ if he found out.

"Getting back to the topic at hand..." Optimus said, and attention returned to him. "If this tape is to be believed, which there is no reason not to, then the Fallen is on Earth somewhere, hiding. And if he's here, then that means Unicron isn't far."

"Which brings me to ask how the human race is going to survive long enough to blow itself up," I observed.

"I don't know. But I suspect all our theories from earlier may have just been debunked," Optimus said seriously, then turned to look at me. "None of our instruments, or the humans, picked up the bridge opening in San Francisco. Yet your body, halfway across the country, picked it up. Why?"

"I haven't the foggiest," I said. "But it certainly does suggest that there's something more to this situation that we're not getting."

"Indeed it does." Optimus said seriously. "Vector, I'm afraid fixing your time bridge has suddenly become a secondary priority. We need to find the Fallen and figure out what he's up to."

"Understandable," Vector said with a nod, then hesitated before adding. "Out of curiosity, you wouldn't happen to know where the Herald is?"

"We just established we need to find the Fallen," I commented.

"No, the _Herald,"_ Vector said, stressing the capital. I wasn't the only one that looked at him blankly. Vector sighed. "The Fallen's counterpart. Of the first thirteen, the Herald came online first, and the Fallen second. The Herald was the chosen of Primus, and the first Prime. She created the Matrix of Leadership, to pass on to future Primes. How has this been lost to history?" Vector seemed quite upset that we didn't know this, and Optimus shook his head.

"The Matrix has been...damaged over the years. The information in it is fragmented, at best. I suspect the Fallen Prime may have corrupted it," Optimus said. Vector frowned.

"Ok, alternate reality confusion moment. I thought you didn't become a Prime until you had the Matrix," I said, interrupting before I got completely lost in this discussion.

"No, anyone can become a Prime. You just need the proper upgrades, which only a select few Cybertronians can build - or the Matrix can provide," Optimus said.

"Oh. So you can be a Prime without the Matrix, but you can't have the Matrix without being a Prime?" I asked, and Optimus nodded.

"Hence how Vector is a Prime, but I have the Matrix, and how I was Prime while the Matrix was hidden here on Earth," he said.

"Ok, confusion over, I get it now," I said with a nod. "Back to our discussion about this Herald femme."

"Yes, back to that. This Herald - would she be able to find the Fallen?" Optimus asked Vector.

"Of course, they were made to fight each other. Primus and Unicron could never fight openly without destroying the universe, but their avatars could. The Herald and the Fallen have clashed countless times. It's rather irritating, they destroyed a nice crystal garden the orn before I left," Vector replied.

"So the question is, where did she go between your time and ours?" Optimus said with a frown. Vector shrugged.

"Er..." Ironhide shifted uncomfortably, and everyone's attention turned to him. "I'm gonna make myself feel really old here, but I actually remember hearing about this femme. The story I heard when I was still a younglin' was that she took off into the cosmos after the Fallen, and was never heard from again."

"Why would she pursue him? Her goal has always been to get the Fallen to leave, and with him, his master," Vector said with a frown. Ironhide shrugged.

"Dunno, that's just the story I heard when I was young. Never saw her m'self," he said. Vector's frown deepened.

"Do you have an image of her? We've been wandering a long time, and come across more than a few mechanoids who we didn't know. Perhaps we saw her and just didn't know," Optimus suggested. Vector thought for a moment, then we all received a message from him. Though I didn't expect to recognize her, I opened the file anyways and had a look.

A golden femme was in the image, laughing at something a crimson red mech was saying. There was no way to tell size, but judging from the perspective, they were both shorter than Vector - assuming he'd taken the picture. I found myself more interested in the background - I hadn't seen any good images of Cybertron, and the background of the image was showing the full beauty of the planet. A few crystalline structures, like trees and yet not, stretching to the sky. The ground was metallic, and yet it didn't look cold and rough, it looked warm, like soil, and seemed soft enough that the footprints of the mech and femme were visible, though they seemed to be fading fast. I wondered if that meant the ground was essentially spongy metal, and how the heck that worked. I debated asking Vector, but decided against it as I turned my attention away from the picture, to the rest of the room, where the mechs were just beginning to stir.

"She doesn't seem familiar," Ratchet said with a shake of his head.

"No, she doesn't," Optimus said with a sigh. "We're on our own, then. Just as well. Megatron would likely want to get his hands on her."

"Speaking of Megatron, we're gonna have to be slagging careful that he doesn't get wind of the Fallen's presence," Ironhide commented.

"I...don't believe Megatron would ally himself with the Fallen," Optimus said with a frown. "He may be our enemy, but as Corporal Samson said, he's just fighting for his side. He's not necessarily evil. In fact, we may be able to use this to bring him to the negotiating table. Our race has a long history of uniting when threatened from outside."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that, Optimus," Ratchet said with a shake of his head. "I'd rather we find the Fallen on our own. If Megatron catches wind of his presence on his own, fine, but I wouldn't go out of my way to let him know." There was a series of agreements from around the table, barring Vector and I, and Optimus sighed.

"Very well," he said. "Then let us begin searching for the Fallen. Use every resource available to you for this. The sooner we can find him, the better." Nods around the table, and then the meeting was evidently at an end, because everyone rose and headed out. I followed Magnus, while Vector had trotted off after Ironhide, apparently wanting to talk to the only other mech that had even _heard_ of the Herald, so I didn't have a tag-along for once as Magnus went to his office.

"So what do you think of this whole thing?" I asked him once we were inside. Magnus' response was to sit down behind his desk and pull me down into his lap before kissing me soundly. When he drew back, I gave him a curious look.

"I think that everything is getting far to apocalyptic for my comfort," he said seriously, then sighed. "I really wish you had remained human, and were not caught up in all of this."

"Even if I were still human, I'd still be all caught up in this," I pointed out. "Between our relationship and me knowing a few more things than I should, I'd end up involved."

"I suppose," Magnus said with a sigh. "I just wish..."

"I know," I said softly, smiling at him, then reached up to give him a kiss of my own. It turned a little heated, and we were in a full-fledged make-out session by the time the door chimed. Magnus, without even moving - or stopping in sending delightful shocks of electricity along my sensitive shoulder plating - flipped on his intercomm.

"Go away, Optimus," he said.

_"Believe me, I'd love to, but I need to speak with Terry," _Optimus said dryly over the intercomm.

"She's busy," Magnus replied.

"Really busy," I murmured, uncertain if Optimus would hear me. Judging from how uncomfortable he sounded when he spoke again, he probably did.

_"It's important,"_ he said. Magnus pulled back and looked down at me, silently asking me if I wanted him to let Optimus in.

"Oh fine," I said with a sigh, sliding out of Magnus' lap and giving myself a shake to get rid of the lingering affects of having Magnus's full attention. Magnus waited until I nodded before keying open the door, and Optimus entered, looking as embarrassed as a mechanoid can.

"I'm sorry, but I thought it best not to delay this news, and I didn't want to speak of it during the meeting," he said apologetically.

"What is it?" I asked, curious now.

"Prowl went back over our sensor logs for quite a length of time, just to be thorough. He found another similar bridge event in San Francisco - two years and four months ago," Optimus said, pulling out a datapad and handing it to me. "April 15th, at 3:14am." I stared at him for a moment, then activated the datapad and looked down at its contents. It wasn't just a recording of the bridge event, it contained police logs involving yours truly getting tossed in the drunk tank that night, and a few more follow-up reports involving bums coming in to report that I was the devil, because they'd seen me appear out of thin air before stumbling drunkenly down the street.

"OK, interesting, but hardly important," I said after a long moment - it was nice to have the information, but I didn't see why he'd interrupted us for it.

"Wheeljack experimented with inter-reality travel awhile back. He didn't find any practical applications, but he became pretty adept at using the technology to get were he wanted to go before he stopped studying it," Optimus hesitated. "Ratchet is fairly sure that the information Prowl found will be enough for Wheeljack to get you home." I stared at him.

"That's impossible. She's Cybertronian now," Magnus said.

"With a human alt form," Optimus said softly. I looked back down at the pad, not wanting to look over at Magnus.

"Home..." I murmured. I touched the pad lightly, as if it were a portal to my home itself, and then suddenly shook myself. "We don't even know where Wheeljack is, though," I said, handing the datapad back to Optimus.

"No. But we're looking for him, and when we find him the opportunity will be there," he said.

"I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Or not. I don't need to decide now," I said, shaking my head.

"Of course not, but I thought you would appreciate knowing the option is there," Optimus said, nodding to me. "I'll let you absorb it for now - I have other things I need to be doing, unfortunately." Neither Magnus nor I said anything as Optimus left, or after he was gone. We didn't even move, Magnus still in his chair, me standing off to the side, Magnus only visible out of the corner of my optic. I saw the occasional small movement from him, either shifting position or opening his mouth to say something, only deciding better at the last moment. Finally, I just walked out, deciding I needed to be alone to think about this. It was handy that I was Cybertronian now, because as much as the base had been built up, it was still quite small, and I ended up leaving it. I went out the closest airlock, pointed myself at Jupiter, and walked until the base was no longer visible behind me. Then I sat down, creating a puff of lunar dust around me, as I stared at the gas giant ahead of me, my thoughts whirling.

Home. I'd never seriously thought I could go back to it. Of course, I'd never really looked into it, but that was because I figured it was pointless. It was my way - people called me an optimist, because I was always so cheerful with life, but they didn't realize that was because I always expected the worst, so I could be pleasantly surprised when I got better. It was, perhaps, why I'd been able to adapt so easily to everything thus far. I expected, once I woke up in this reality, to spend my life not existing, working as a waitress. Then Magnus showed up, and I was pleasantly surprised. I got a Cybertronian body, and hey, didn't expect that, that's cool. And now, the only thing that could possibly top that - the opportunity to go home. It was like the universe was determined to prove to me that good things _did _happen.

Though how good this opportunity was, I didn't know. I mean, the thought of home...it tugged at me. It was _home_ - of course I should want to go back there. But it would mean leaving behind everything I knew here - leaving Magnus. I'd built myself a life, because I hadn't expected to be able to return home. And now I was discovering that that hadn't been necessary. Groaning, I flopped back onto the ground, Jupiter still taking up most of my field of vision.

I reminded myself that I didn't have to make a decision about this right away - we didn't even know where Wheeljack was, and besides that, it was Ratchet who said he _thought_ Wheeljack would have enough information to send me home. Who knew how much Ratchet actually knew about the whole process? It could be that Wheeljack wouldn't show up for decades - the future me hadn't given a precise timeline for events - and by then it would either be too late, or he wouldn't be able to get me home.

I realized I was doing it again - making myself think to worst. Frowning, I forced myself to consider what I would do if Wheeljack showed up tomorrow, ready and able to send me home. I spent several minutes just staring up at Jupiter before I realized I couldn't decide - couldn't even think about it. Home called to me, but so did my life here. Family, friends, and an actual record of my existence, versus Magnus, the Autobots, and a war that might end quite horribly. The choice should have been easy. But it wasn't.

A flash of movement caught my optic, and I looked to the side, expecting to see Magnus. I laughed aloud - not that anyone heard it, being in a vacuum - at who it actually was, though.

"So I'm hallucinating now?" I asked over comms, mostly to see if I'd get a reply, as Jazz came to sit by me.

_"Let's just say y'got some ties t'th'afterlife that others don't,"_ the silver mech said, surprising and yet not surprising me by replying.

"So I'm hallucinating ghosts," I said, amused.

_"Kinda,"_ he said with a shrug. _"Whatcha doin' out here?"_

"Trying to write a virus to make Optimus think of better things to do the next time he has 'important information' he needs to share with me," I said dryly.

_"Ahh, what did the big guy drop on ya?"_ Jazz asked with a knowing smile.

"Home. Which is pretty impressive, even for him," I said with a sigh. "Apparently I might actually be able to go back."

_"An' you're not sure if y'wanna?"_

"No. I was so sure I couldn't go back, I didn't even try. Hell, I didn't even contact the Autobots to ask. I just hung out as a waitress."

_"An' now you're kickin' yourself for not approaching them an' askin' sooner, before you had ties here."_

"I suppose," I said thoughtfully. "I just can't...I mean, it's home. This should be a no-brainer. I should want to go home."

_"But y'don't?"_ Jazz guessed, and I nodded.

"No, I don't," I said softly. "Home was...boring and normal. And I mean, I was fine with that, while I was there. Then I came here, and...I guess I just can't imagine going home again after all this." I paused. "Maybe because I'm in a Cybertronian body, on Ganymede, looking up at Jupiter, and trying to think about it." Jazz laughed at that.

_"That would add a bit'a surrealness to it,"_ he said.

"Yeah, kinda," I said. We sat in silence for a bit, and then the silver mech next to me shifted.

_"Well, I can save ya some thinkin', if ya want,"_ he offered.

"It won't work?" I guessed.

_"Nope. Well, it will, but you can't leave."_

"Oh?"

_"You have unbreakable ties here now,"_ Jazz said simply. I sat up and turned to look at him fully, frowning.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

_"You'll figure it out,"_ he said with a grin, and I glared at him. He laughed.

"Why do even my hallucinations mock me? It was bad enough when my future self did it," I grumbled.

_"I ain't a hallucination,"_ Jazz said with a chuckle, then reached over and knocked on my helm. _"Just tell Prowler he's a cupcake if you don't believe me."_

"And what could that possible accomplish?" I asked, curious. The mech just smiled mysteriously, and then sort of _wisped_ out of existence, like campfire smoke. I stared at the spot he'd been sitting for awhile, aware that there was no indentation in the lunar surface, no evidence that he had been there. And yet, somehow, I believed he'd really been there - maybe wanted to believe. Still, there was one way to find out for sure.

_"May I help you, Terry?"_ Prowl was quick to reply to my ping.

"If I called you a cupcake, what would you say?" I asked. There was a long silence, and then Ratchet pinged my comm system. "Ello?"

_"What did you say to make Prowl crash?"_ the medic asked dangerously, and I burst out laughing. Ratchet, disgusted, closed the line on me, and I was left out in Ganymede's wilderness, laughing to myself, until I could get it under control. Once I'd recovered, I stood up, dusted myself off - not that it did much good - and headed back to base. Once inside, I made straight for the med bay, where I found Prowl sitting on one of the berths, listening to Ratchet rant at him about something.

"Hello cupcake!" I greeted Prowl cheerily. I was rather impressed with how fast his systems crashed again. Then Ratchet turned to me, and I ran.

* * *

Magnus was waiting for me in his quarters by the time I stopped running from Ratchet (or rather, by the time he gave up on chasing me for the day). It seemed he'd been there awhile, too, because he'd tidied up the place, and had some energon waiting for me. My energy was running rather low after the events of the day, so I gratefully downed the energon in one long gulp. Magnus, watching, didn't even crack a smile like he normally did when I did 'human' things like that, so I turned to him curiously.

"What's up?" I asked.

"You find out you can go home, and you're asking me 'what's up'?" he said incredulously.

"Well yeah. I mean, that's reason for me to get angsty, not you," I pointed out. Magnus frowned.

"Yet you don't seem 'angsty'," he said. "I take it you made a decision?"

"About going home or not, should it turn out to be possible?" I asked, and Magnus nodded. "No." Magnus gave me a confused look. "I don't need to make a decision."

"What do you mean?" Magnus asked, sounding like he was dreading my answer. I frowned, then stepped over to him, resting a hand on his chestplates as I looked him in the optics. I was starting to get an inkling what my ghostly visitor had meant by 'unbreakable ties'.

"I'm not going anywhere," I said, and was enveloped in a hug . I hugged Magnus back, surprised that he actually seemed to be shaking. "Magnus?" I was concerned now. "Are you alright?"

"I am now," he said softly, drawing back. "Terry, I don't know what I would have done if you'd decided to go home."

"It wasn't even an option," I said softly, realizing the truth now - the only reason I'd wanted to go home was because I felt like I _should_ want to go home. There was nothing pulling me there now, though. My family had likely already grieved for me, my friends would have moved on. My life was in this reality, now. "I just...needed some time to finally say goodbye, I guess."

"Good," Magnus said, then kissed me, quite thoroughly derailing my thinking process. He was quite passionate about it, too, and somehow or another we ended up on the berth without me knowing how. We were also quickly passing out of our comfort zone and into territory I usually drew the line at exploring - when panels started opening and cables started appearing, in other words. I figured Magnus was testing the boundaries now that he knew I was sticking around, and I was debating finally letting him push past them, when suddenly he drew away on his own. The look he gave me was far more intense than anything I'd seen on him, and if I'd been human, probably would have had me struggling to breath. As it was, I could feel a few of my internals hitch unexpectedly.

"What?" I asked, my voice embarrassingly mouse-like.

"Bond with me," he said, voice low. I stared at him. I wanted to ask if he was joking, but the look he was giving me said he wasn't.

"I...what?" was all I could finally get out, and I sounded strangled, even to myself. Human-me was panicking, hard.

"Bond your spark to mine, Terry," Magnus said, leaning in closer, until we were almost nose-to-nose. "I love you, and I know you love me as well." I stared at him for a little while longer, then the rising panic burst through. I rolled off the berth and was out the door so fast I'm pretty sure I could've given Blurr a run for his money. I took off down the corridor, ignoring the incessant pinging on my comm system as I made my way to the airlock I'd used earlier today. I was just rounding the corner to it when I crashed into someone else. I was disentangling myself from them when I realized just who I'd run into - Prowl, still on base for his usual weekly status report.

"Er -sorry," I said, then glanced behind me, wondering if Magnus had decided to follow.

"Is something wrong?" Prowl asked with a frown, sounding concerned as he, too, looked behind me.

"No, yes, maybe - kinda? I'm having a really weird day," I said in a rush. Prowl gave me a look, and I snorted. "OK, that's kinda obvious. Not that you even know the half of it, though you probably suspect some of it - or maybe not, I mean maybe that's why you kept crashing, you couldn't come up with a reason for me calling you 'cupcake' or something, I dunno -" I was rambling, but fortunately, Prowl seemed to know how to handle it - he took me by the shoulders, turned me to the airlock, and essentially frog-marched me through. Once outside, my rambling was stopped by the vacuum of space, and I sat down on the ground. Prowl, in a surprisingly un-Prowl-like move, sat down across from me, watching as I stared blankly at the ground.

"Thanks," I said finally, over the comms, once I'd recovered some semblance of coherence. Magnus's incessant pinging of my comm had stopped.

_"You're welcome,"_ Prowl said. _"Do you want to talk about what had you so worked up?"_

"'Who' would be a more appropriate word," I said.

_"Magnus,"_ Prowl guessed.

"Yeah. And, I suppose, Optimus and Jazz," I added.

_"...Jazz?"_ Prowl looked confused.

"Yeah, don't ask. Apparently I have 'ties to the afterlife that others don't'," I said, making air quotes and everything, not that Prowl got the gesture. "It's where the 'cupcake' came from."

_"Ah," _Prowl replied.

"I mean...Optimus and his 'hey you can go home' bombshell was bad enough. Then suddenly I'm seeing a dead mech, who tells me I can't go home after all, and then tells me I have unbreakable ties here which was really confusing right up until Magnus went and asked me to bond with him." I had the feeling that if I was still human, I'd be hyperventilating. "Today has just been a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, and I think I've reached my limit." Prowl was silent for a moment, then stood, holding out a hand to me. I looked up at him, curious, but he just arched an optic ridge at me. I took it, and he tugged me up before letting go and heading back into the base. Guessing that he wanted me to follow, I headed in as well, then followed him as he led me through familiar corridors, eventually ending up in the large conference room.

"What are we doing here?" I asked in confusion.

"Making use of Jazz's so-called 'all-purpose cure'," Prowl replied as he headed for the screen at the head of the room. "Have a seat." Curious, I did so, and a few minutes later, Prowl took the seat next to me, hitting the lights on his way. On the screen, what was clearly the credits for some Cybertronian video started playing.

"You realize I still don't know Cybertronian," I told Prowl.

"I can translate," Prowl said easily. I gave him an amused look, then settled back to watch, and listen to Prowl's translation.

The movie, it turned out, was the Cybertronian equivalent of the Three Stooges or Charlie Chaplain's Tramp movies - really old, really horrible, and consisting of some truly pathetic mechs getting into completely ridiculous situations, and using even more ridiculous methods to get out of those situations. It didn't take long before I was giggling, and soon even Prowl was having problems keeping a straight face. There were a few points where I suspected he was only keeping it together so he could translate for me, and I laughed even harder because of it.

As we neared the end of the film - or rather, films, Prowl had queued up three of them - I heard the door open and close, but I didn't pay any attention, as I had started heckling Prowl's translation, giving my own version, trying to get Prowl to crack up. I was getting close, but the film ended before I managed it, and then I turned my attention to the new arrival in the room - Optimus.

"You may wish to make for cover, Prowl," he said dryly.

"I was planning on it," the tactician replied just as dryly, then bid goodnight to me before leaving the room. I was vaguely amused at how he took Optimus' words to spark, transforming as soon as he got outside and peeling off down the hallway. Then the doors were shut again, and I was left in an conference room alone with Optimus. He held out a datapad.

"What's this?" I asked.

"The codes to a spare set of quarters. Magnus asked me to deliver them," the question was clear in Optimus' voice. I sighed.

"Where is he now?"

"His quarters - Cliffjumper kicked him off the firing range, claiming he was destroying it," Optimus replied. I grimaced.

"Thanks," I said, standing and heading out. I didn't want to, but I grabbed the datapad from Optimus on the way by, just in case. Optimus didn't say anything, but I could feel him watching me as I walked down the corridor. I was glad when I turned the corner.

I wasn't sure if my code would work anymore when I reached Magnus' quarters, but apparently it did, and I entered to chaos. The room was completely torn apart - the only thing that was as I left it was the berth, complete with Magnus on it, only now he was stretched out, in recharge - self-enforced, I suspected, so that he didn't destroy anything else. I sighed, glancing between the berth and the mess, wondering which I should deal with first. Being the chicken that I am, I decided on the mess.

It was hours later when I looked up from my cleaning and realized I was done - everything was as back to normal as I could get it. So I turned to the berth, and after a moment's consideration, headed over to it and crawled into it, snuggling up to Magnus. I knew for certain then that his recharge was forced, because his optics didn't so much as flicker. I didn't really want to wake him, anyways, so I just engaged my own recharge protocols.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer:** Not mine!

**A/N:** Long chapter is looooong. Do hope you enjoy it though. ^.^

**- Chapter 9 -**

When I woke the next morning, it was to an empty berth. I sat up and looked around, finding Magnus standing by the window, looking out at Jupiter. After a few moments of hesitation, I stood and walked over to him, resting a hand on his arm.

"It is a good thing Prowl is so good at tactics," Magnus commented. "He kept you both within range of security cameras the entire night, and the first thing he did this morning was send the footage to me."

"I had wondered a little about his choice of the conference room," I commented, slightly amused by how Prowl had anticipated something I hadn't even thought of - but then, I hadn't exactly been thinking straight.

"I apologize," Magnus said, turning to me.

"Don't," I said, shaking my head. "I'm the one that should be apologizing."

"Terry -"

"Magnus," I countered, giving Magnus a glare, and he chuckled, then wrapped an arm around me and pulled me close to his side.

"I _will_ apologize for springing that on you. I got a little...caught up in the moment, I suppose," he said.

"And I'm sorry for running out like that. I just...I'm still human, Magnus. Mentally, if not physically. I can only take so much in one day, and you asking me to bond on top of everything just tipped me over the edge."

"I know," Magnus replied. He was silent for a moment. "For the record, the request still stands, but with an open-ended timeline." I looked up at him incredulously.

"Seriously?" I couldn't stop myself from asking, and Magnus nodded, looking over at me.

"I meant it when I said I didn't know what I'd do if you decided to leave," he said.

"Besides destroying your quarters and getting kicked off the shooting range, you mean?" I asked after a beat, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"Yes, besides that. And thank you," Magnus said, chuckling.

"It was the least I could do," I murmured in reply. We stood in silence for a few more minutes, before the one question I couldn't figure out an answer to finally burst out. "Why? Why me? I mean, you're this super awesome alien soldier and are god-knows how old, and probably have a ton more prospects than just l'il ol' me, so _why me?_" Magnus looked down at me in amusement.

"'Super awesome alien soldier'?" he asked.

"I'm at a loss for adjectives right now, so sue me. Answer the question!" I said, poking him in the side, and in response, Magnus leaned down and kissed me.

"Because I love you," he said.

"Well, yes, but that doesn't -" I cut off as Magnus' chest armor suddenly slid back, and I found myself staring at his spark chamber. "Um..."

"Humans have such different and varied views on love," Magnus said. "It's refreshing, in some ways, to see a race with such openness when it comes to love - and yet, in some ways, they have lost out. To be able to look at someone and _know_ they are meant for you, and you for them, is a frightening thing, but it is as freeing as it is constrictive. Knowing at the start whether or not you and your partner will last allows for much healthier relationships, and much less, as you put it, 'angst'."

"Um..." I was having trouble focusing on what Magnus was saying, my attention still caught on his spark chamber, just sitting there in front of me. Then Magnus' chest armor slid back into place, blocking my view, and I shook myself slightly before looking back up to his face. Magnus smiled faintly.

"_That_ is why the request stands," he said.

"Huh-whu? Why? I think I missed something," I said, confused, and Magnus chuckled, then leaned against me, resting his forehead against mine.

"You are my sparkmate, Terry. I've known it from the moment I saw you. I may have been a little confused about how it was possible, but I knew it was you," he said.

I opened and closed my mouth a few times, different things to say popping into my head, but nothing seemed to fit. I finally settled on short, simple, and classic: "Oh." Magnus smiled, then kissed me lightly before stepping away.

"As much as I would love to stay here all day with you, Optimus refused to cancel my duties for the day," Magnus said.

"Eh, frag him. He caused this mess," I said dismissively, stepping up to Magnus and grabbing onto him. Magnus chuckled.

"He's a Prime, it would be disrespectful," he said.

"I'll just get Vector to give you the day off. Prime _and_ one of the first thirteen - I think that trumps Optimus," I retorted.

"Optimus has the Matrix, though," Magnus pointed out. "Which was made by one of the first thirteen, and contains the knowledge of every Prime to have held it."

"Stop trying to undermine my attempts to get you the day off," I told Magnus, glaring up at him. Magnus chuckled.

"How about I solve this a different way," he said. "There's absolutely nothing stopping you from following me around all day."

"Ooooh, good point!" I said with a grin. "Can you have lots of meetings with Optimus? Where he needs to come to _your_ office?" Magnus laughed, but didn't respond as he took my hand and pulled me after him out of his - our - quarters.

* * *

It was surprisingly calm after that - I mean, ignoring the fact that everyone was frantically trying to find the Fallen. We knew that the longer he was on Earth, the closer his master would be, and none of us really wanted to face Unicron. For all that everyone was panicking over Unicron and the Fallen, however, there wasn't much that Vector and I could do to help, and so we went back to working on The Lounge.

We settled on an earthy colour scheme - browns, with fake Earth plants and imitation Cybertron crystals. Realizing that we were going to have to pick some music, and we could do that while working, we also started going through Jazz's collection on the Ark, as well as Earth's plethora of music, looking for a nice relaxing playlist. Between the completely unimportant work of finishing up The Lounge, and the constant music, we soon found ourselves gaining company as we worked, mechs joining us to have a break from the urgent search for the Fallen. I joked at one point that The Lounge appeared to already be in business and it wasn't even finished, to which Vector just shrugged and said 'why not?' I didn't comment further, instead turning my attention to the on-going issue of the energon dispenser - for one reason or another, we just couldn't get it to work.

Optimus had decided not to tell the humans about the Fallen's presence on Earth, probably hoping to have the problem solved before they needed to be informed, or at least have it in hand in some way before he had to tell them. I didn't blame him - from all available data, there was no way to tell how the humans would react to the news, and the last thing the already slightly panicky Autobots needed was panicked human allies. So the Cybertronians kept quiet, hacking into human computer systems to get the data they needed rather than ask for it.

Unfortunately, with the humans thinking there was nothing wrong, they soon turned their attention to something else that was much less important, and much harder to explain: me. _Human_ me, who still made an occasional appearance when anyone from NEST was up on Ganymede. Major Lennox brought the first of the official requests to speak with me, and when I politely refused them, he brought a few more aggressive (but still polite) ones. Meeting with him in my human alt form, Lennox was extremely apologetic about the whole thing.

"If they could find some record of you it would help," he tried hopefully. "Since they've got nothing, they're swinging around all sorts of crazy ideas."

"Oooh, do they think I'm a Russian spy yet?" I asked brightly, and Lennox grinned.

"They'll get there eventually," he said. "Seriously. Anything you can give me will help."

"I'd love to help you, Major, really I would - but I don't think it would be exactly prudent right now," I told him politely. Prowl had cooked up that response for me - it made it seem as if there were reasons not to talk about my past, and not that there wasn't anything there to tell. Lennox sighed.

"They're just going to send me back, you know," he said. "Can't you at least come to Earth and have a chat with the guys sending me up here?"

"Prudence and such," I said with a shrug, then grinned. "Besides, I know you like making the trip."

"Yes, well, that's beside the point," Lennox replied with a chuckle. "You know, the Cybertronians, and any of their civilian charges like you, were a lot easier to deal with before Prowl showed up." I snickered.

"I'll pass that on," I said.

"Make sure you do," Lennox said, shaking his head, then said goodbye and headed out. As he predicted, he was back within the week, this time with some more strongly-worded political mumbo-jumbo.

"Basically if Terry doesn't show her face and answer some questions, they're going to start limiting Cybertronian movements on Earth," Lennox explained in brief, this time meeting with me, Prowl, and Optimus, the latter two having bridged in with Lennox specifically for this meeting. It would have been easier for me to bridge down to Earth, but Prowl didn't want me off Ganymede right now, just in case.

"I see," Optimus mused, glancing over at Prowl.

"And to start that off, they've sent along a request for information on that new femme that arrived, with an implied threat that if you don't give them the info _now_, she'll never see Earth," Lennox said with a sigh, handing over another sheaf of paper covered in really tiny text. I looked up at Optimus and Prowl, amused. They didn't seem amused at all, but I knew this was putting them in a tough place. Unfortunately, there was only one thing I could do.

"Perhaps it's time to go explain a few things?" I suggested.

"That would be inadvisable, as you well know," Prowl replied instantly.

"I'm not sure it would be," I said. "I've been thinking about it, actually, and there's one fact that's been pushed to the side in all of this."

"And that would be?" Prowl asked with a frown.

"Why did I end up in a radioactive wasteland when I went to the future?" I said, picking my words carefully - Optimus had shared some basic details about my trip to the future, but he hadn't told them a lot - basically just that I went to the future and received a message from myself that there were some bad things coming, but that I couldn't say what in order to protect the timeline. There had been no mention of where I'd been in the future, though there had been heavy implications that I'd been elsewhere, so no one had jumped to the 'nuked Earth' assumption when further details regarding the day had included why Magnus had come back heavily irradiated.

"Why _did _you?" Lennox asked curiously now. I didn't answer him, waiting for Optimus and Prowl as they thought over my statement.

"I believe Terry has a point," Optimus finally said, slowly. Internally, my comm system pinged, and I found myself invited into a conversation with all the command staff - apparently they were all discussing the meeting, even if only Optimus and Prowl were attending. I wondered how often they did that, and if anyone else knew.

_"-we know this won't just cause panic sooner?"_ Ratchet was asking.

"_We don't. It is, however, an opportunity to broach the topic early, to allow humans to get used to the idea,"_ Optimus said.

_"Plus there's really not another option, not unless we completely bullshit them or come up with something else,"_ I piped up. _"I can pass as Cybertronian easily enough, and they already know that you guys make use of deep-cover operatives. It won't be a problem making it seem believable, and they'll be off our backs."_

_"The benefits far outweigh the disadvantages,"_ Magnus agreed with me. _"At worst, the humans are a bit more paranoid, perhaps want to track us while we're on Earth. At best, they accept and request that they know of all Cybertronians with the capability for a humanoid alt-form."_

_"The human capability for paranoia is what worries me," _Prowl said. _"They can be unreasonable about such things. Not to mention, if they involve their religion, it could get excessively messy."_

_"Religion? How?"_ I asked curiously.

_"I believe there is a phrase in the Christian Bible - _"made in His image"?_" _Prowl said pointedly.

_"Oh. Point. How do you even know that?"_ I asked in surprise.

_"I asked him to study the religious beliefs of humans in order to better understand their motivations,"_ Optimus replied. _"The report Prowl provided at the end was quite enlightening and helpful."_

_"Hmm. I bet it was,"_ I said.

_"Regardless, you need to make this decision Optimus - there will be no going back after this, not unless we want to admit we've lied to the humans," _Magnus said firmly.

_"I know,"_ Optimus said with a sigh. There was a long pause, then - _"Very well. All things considered, perhaps it is best to tell the humans that Terry is a Cybertronian deep-over operative with a human alt form."_ The conversation terminated, and I returned my attention to the outside world. My internal chronometer told me the conversation had taken only a few moments, but it was enough that Lennox was looking at me funny.

"Major Lennox, could you please return to Earth and tell your superiors Terry and I shall arrive to discuss the details of her background later this evening," Optimus requested politely, and Lennox nodded.

"Of course," he said, and said a polite goodbye before leaving, sending me odd looks the whole time. Ah well, his questions would be answered soon enough. Once he was gone, Magnus entered Optimus' office.

"Prowl, Terry, Magnus, please come up with a suitable background story. Due to our reluctance in speaking to them on the matter, the humans may want details of her life back on Cybertron," Optimus said. "You will also have to come up with a plausible reason for our initial reactions upon meeting her here on Earth. You have until evening, Eastern Standard Time. I will be speaking with Ratchet and Ironhide over comms about an explanation for her alt form."

"Of course," Prowl said with a nod, then motioned for Magnus and I to follow him. I transformed as I followed him out, knowing that Lennox would be out of sight by now, and we headed for the smaller conference room, Magnus and I sitting on one side of the table, and Prowl on the other.

"I suggest we start with a basic outline of Terry's fictional past by filling out a standard personnel profile for her, thus saving us the time composing it later. Once that's accomplished, we can move on to detailing her more recent history. If we still have time, we can go back and expand upon the fictional Cybertronian past," Prowl said. Magnus and I murmured an agreement. "Very well then." Prowl produced a data pad and tapped it a few times before placing it down in the middle of the table. "Name."

Silence.

"How about we come back to that one?" I suggested, grimacing. I didn't really want to name myself - all the ones I could think of were corny and horrible anyways - and neither Magnus nor Prowl was producing an answer.

"Perhaps a good idea," Prowl said after a moment, then looked at the pad again. "Date and location of creation."

"Praxis," Magnus stated, and we both looked at him in surprise.

"That's an...interesting choice," I said.

"Also not feasible, as the number of surviving Praxians is on record in several places, many of which we don't have the ability to alter," Prowl replied with a frown.

"We're going to claim she's a deep cover operative, right?" Magnus said, and Prowl nodded. "Special Ops makes a habit of wiping any records of their members' existences, above and beyond what is normally capable to wipe."

"Using that logic, she could be from any city on Cybertron," Prowl pointed out.

"True - however, being from Praxis gives her a ready-made excuse to be reticent about speaking of her home to humans," Magnus said. "Additionally, all known Praxian survivors are Autobots, so we won't have to worry about them asking her anything she won't know and blowing her cover."

"Because a Decepticon is gonna stop to chat about home," I said dubiously.

"We are making this background to last, are we not?" Magnus said. "No matter how much time-travelling you and Vector do, the future is still uncertain, and it would be best to avoid any possible issues now."

"Your logic is sound," Prowl said after a moment. "Praxis it is. Creation date..." Prowl filled something in without consulting either of us.

"I don't get a vote on how old I am?" I asked with amusement. Prowl gave me an arched look.

"Would you prefer a different date?" he asked, motioning to the pad. I looked down at it, but since I didn't even know the Cybertronian calendar, the date meant nothing to me.

"Nah, I'm good," I said, leaning back in my chair. Prowl snorted.

"Creators," he said, motioning to the pad, then pulled out another one. A few taps on it and he handed it to me. "This is a list of known bonded couples in Praxis at the time of creation listed for you. Pick."

"Er." I stared at the list for a moment, then flipped off my optics, scrolled up and down and up and down a random amount, then pointed at a random pair of names. I flipped my optics back on to find Prowl looking quite disturbed, while Magnus chuckled. "What?" I asked, glancing down at the pad. "Rhythm and Lightspark?"

"I thought he was from Iacon," Magnus asked, still chuckling.

"He was," Prowl said irritably. "His creators moved to Praxis shortly before the war began."

"Who?" I asked curiously, though I had a suspicion, given the names.

"Jazz," Prowl said curtly. "Apparently you have just become his long-lost sister."

"Isn't that a little...easy to see through?" I asked uncertainly. "I mean, Jazz would've mentioned any siblings, right?"

"The only reason we known the names of his creators is because we've seen his file," Prowl said, motioning between himself and Magnus. "Jazz was extremely reluctant to speak about his past to anyone. _Soundwave _may know more than any of us Autobots."

"Oh," I said after a moment.

"If you prefer, you can pick again," Prowl said, motioning to the pad. I looked down at it.

"No, you know, I think I'm good. If I picked Jazz's creators on the first go, I'm kinda scared who I might end up with on the second go. Maybe Elita's or something," I said.

"Elita's creators were safely on the other side of the planet," Magnus informed me encouragingly.

"I believe Ratchet had a bonded brother that lived in Praxis," Prowl commented.

"There ya go. All things considered, I'll stick with being related to Jazz," I said with a shudder, and Prowl smiled faintly.

"Very well," he said. "Education is next." Magnus rattled off a few official-sounding schools, and Prowl nodded, adding them to the datapad, then filled in the next few fields, which were date and location of recruitment. It was pretty easy stuff from there, stuff that I couldn't contribute to - education, training, assignments.

"The final entry will have to be a deep-cover scouting assignment," Prowl finally concluded the section. "All other information regarding it will be classified. If pressed, we can say that only Jazz knew the details. He had a few operatives like that."

"We'll just conveniently not mention that he left the information about them in an encrypted file in your personal databanks, coded to unlock itself and knock you on your aft from the data dump if you ever found out he was dead?" Magnus said dryly, and Prowl gave Magnus a weary look.

"Of course. Not that the humans are entitled to information that detailed about our special operations, anyways," he said, then turned business-like again. "That concludes the profile, except for the first field - a Cybertronian name." This time, as the silence settled, I received a comm request, and curious, I allowed it. There was no originator, no identification ping, but the voice on the other end was unmistakable.

_"Y'should totally go with Sparkie."_ I cursed and nearly fell out of my chair.

_"How the flying monkey fuck are you contacting me?"_ I demanded silently over the comm channel, not that it stopped Prowl and Magnus from looking at me strangely due to my facial expressions.

_"Toldja, you have connections to the afterlife that others don't,"_ Jazz replied impishly.

_"Yeah, well -" _I cut myself off, unable to think of anything to say to that. _"I'm not calling myself Sparkie,"_ I finally settled on.

_"Spot?"_ Jazz suggested.

_"Are you trying to imply that I'm a pet or something?"_ I asked dangerously, and Jazz laughed.

_"Fine, fine. How 'bout Lifesong? My creators always said that they were gonna name their next creation that,"_ he said. I was silent for a moment.

_"You wouldn't mind?"_ I asked.

_"Nah. They don't, either. They think you'd be a great addition to the family, in fact,"_ Jazz said cheerfully.

_"Wait, you're talking to them, _and_ me? How does that...nevermind. I don't want to know,"_ I said hurriedly. Jazz snickered.

_"Tell Prowl that I still think green is a good colour on him,"_ the ghostly mech said, then the connection was severed. I returned my attention to the conference room, finding the two mechs looking at me oddly again.

"Jazz suggests Lifesong. And wanted you to know that he still thinks green is a good colour on you, Prowl," I said after a moment. Prowl stared, while Magnus just looked confused.

"...what?" Magnus finally asked, looking between me and Prowl.

"Yeah. That was pretty much my reaction," I told Magnus cheerfully. Prowl, meanwhile, got over his shock, calmly picked up the datapad, and filled in the name.

"Reaction to what? What's this about Jazz?" Magnus asked with a frown.

"Well, either I'm going crazy and making really good guesses about in-jokes between Prowl and Jazz, or I have 'ties to the afterlife that others don't'," I said, complete with air-quotes. Magnus frowned.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"I have no fragging clue," I said with a shake of my head.

"We will have to discuss this at a later date," Prowl interrupted. "We are on a time limit at the moment, and we had best establish the story of Terry here on Earth." Magnus hesitated, but finally nodded in acquiescence. "Good. Now. I believe we have two basic options here - one, that we had no idea who Terry was until she chose to reveal herself during the holiday you two took, or two, that we knew from the start and were just maintaining her cover."

"The second one won't work," Magnus said with a shake of his head. "Not with some of the things that have been said, or overheard. It's one thing to keep someone's cover when talking to other people, but I know some members of NEST have accidentally overheard a few supposedly private conversations at the base on earth - we have no idea if any of the ones regarding Terry have been overheard."

"I feel like I should be nosey or something and demand to know what those discussions were about," I mused, then thought about Epps's comment regarding Magnus and Ironhide getting in a fight. "But, I think I know, partly, and that's enough."

"Probably," Magnus said with a grimace, then returned to the topic at hand. "If we have to go with us not knowing who she was, do we need to plan anything else? Our actions wouldn't need any explaining."

"They'll want to know why she revealed herself," Prowl said. "And we're still not telling the humans that sparkmates are pre-destined." I wondered momentarily how Prowl had known about the whole sparkmates thing, and if he knew, who _else_ knew. I decided to bring it up with Magnus later.

"If I've been on a deep cover mission on Earth all this time, the chances that I wouldn't know what happened in Mission City would be slim, right?" I asked. "So if I know Jazz, my superior and long-lost brother, is dead, wouldn't it make sense for me to reach out and connect to someone in the Autobots? The fact that we happened to, you know, fall in love is just coincidental, and when I _finally_ revealed who I was, Magnus of course told Optimus, who told you, and together they all decided that my mission was no longer necessary, so we did our best to phase me off of Earth - except people got nosey."

"That would certainly work," Prowl said with a nod. "Our reluctance in informing the humans of this fact is, of course, due to your alt form."

"Of course," I said brightly.

"Very well, with that determined, I believe we still have time to go back and flesh out your back story a bit," Prowl said.

"What's there to flesh out?" I asked curiously. Prowl smiled faintly.

"Perhaps it's better to say that we need to flesh out your knowledge of Cybertron, in order to make your back story believable," he said. Thus followed a Q&A about all the common, every-day things about Cybertron. It was fun, as I got to ask all sorts of mundane questions I'd never thought to ask before. Eventually, of course, Optimus came and interrupted our little meeting - resulting in several embarrassing questions aimed his way about certain aspects of Cybertronian culture (they did actually have brothels, and I was going to get endless hours of amusement out of asking Optimus about the visit that he had reportedly made, but refused to speak about). Optimus, of course, quickly pulled me away from the dangerous influence of two mechs that knew more about him that he wanted, and we headed to Earth, me in my human alt-form.

It was weird, riding with Optimus to the NEST base. I was used to riding in a big truck by now, but I was also used to it being Magnus, who obviously didn't mind at all if I squirmed in his seat or anything like that - something that he could feel, and could possibly be taken as provocative by someone. I found myself sitting as still as possible in Optimus' seat, with both hands on the steering wheel holding on only enough to keep them there. Optimus obviously sensed my tension, and tried to lighten the mood by asking me about the background they'd made up for me, though I was sure Prowl had transmitted it to him. Fortunately, he never asked why I was so tense, as even I knew my reason was rather silly.

Finally, we reached the base, and I gratefully climbed out of Optimus' cab so he could transform. He didn't pick me up - I'd learned that smaller Cybertronians were normally very picky about who they let pick them up, and since we were going to let them know that I wasn't human anymore, it was time to conform to Cybertronian standards. At least in the future I'd be able to just transform and walk on my own...but for now, I got to watch Optimus take a couple steps into the hanger we were meeting in and be standing at the scaffolding that was being used for the meeting, while the rest of us took a minute or two to get there and climb the steps. I debated for a moment if I wanted to climb them, since I was going to have to transform, but I realized that even though I looked human, I was still made of Cybertronian metals, and a jump from the scaffolding wouldn't hurt me.

Up on the scaffolding, there were several computers, computer screens, and cameras. It seemed we weren't going to get to meet our questioners in person, but that was fine. I went to lean against the railing to the right of Optimus, and Lennox fell into a parade rest on the other side. Everyone else cleared the way, while the few technicians who were seated at the computers, out of sight of the cameras, began starting things up and connecting. The screens slowly blinked on, one by one, and once all five were on, Lennox introduced everyone. There were a couple of generals, a senator, the Secretary of Defense, and the Vice President. A nice turn-out, and a bit intimidating.

"Good evening gentlemen," Optimus said politely once they were all introduced.

_"Good evening, Optimus. It's a pleasure to speak with you again," _the Secretary of Defense said, smiling. The others had similar greetings for the Autobot leader, but none were as warm as the Secretary of Defense's.

_"So. You've been putting us off for awhile, Optimus. What's so horrible about Miss Gorman's past that you refused to tell us until we started making threats?"_ the Secretary of Defense seemed to be in charge of the meeting, and I suspected it was since he seemed to know Optimus the best.

"The answer to that is, I'm afraid, quite complicated," Optimus admitted. "I shall endeavor to explain, but I'm afraid you will have to bear with me, as you may have difficulty understanding how everything connects until my explanation is complete."

_"Of course,"_ the Secretary of Defense said with a nod. Optimus paused, probably for the effect of gathering his thoughts, before he continued.

"Cybertron has always been a very insular society. For all that we have had space travel capabilities for millions of your years, there are very few cybernetic lifeforms, and even fewer that exist on the same size-scale as us. As a result, many organic races, and smaller races, are easily frightened by us. In the early ages of our space exploration, this resulted in insular tendencies that remain to this day. In later ages, it resulted in the invention of trans-scanning. Those two aspects are the primary reasons that Cybertronians tend to first appear in disguise to any new species - and why we often don't let new species know that we are there, in disguise, unless we have to.

"As you might imagine, this has led to a very developed scouting corps, where stealth and discretion were considered key. When the war began, this scouting corps, like most things on Cybertron, was split in half. Some of the scouts became Autobots, some Decepticons. Furthermore, many of the scouts found themselves in the Special Operations Division, where their abilities to remain undetected were put to use against other Cybertronians.

"The primary purpose of the scouting corps, however, was always to discover new resources - either in material goods, information, or allies - for the Cybertronian people. Though many of the scouts were absorbed in special ops missions, they also retained their primary objective, although for a different purpose now. Where once they sought resources in order to improve Cybertron, now they sought resources in order to help their side of the war, and to help rebuild Cybertron once the war was over. As these missions had a direct correlation to the ability of their given side to continue the fight, the once public scouting missions became top secret. Over the years, knowledge of these missions was restricted to fewer and fewer mechs, until many of them were known only by the head of Special Operations.

"Unfortunately, this had an unwelcome side affect. Jazz, as you know, was my head of Special Operations. When he died in the battle at Mission City, he was unable to completely transmit his stored files on these top secret missions. Thus, there are now an unknown number of deep cover scouts out in the galaxy, searching for new resources for Cybertron. I am fairly sure that Jazz planned for such an eventuality, setting time limits for missions - or, as we have recently learned, encouraging operatives to take the initiative and contact other Cybertronians nearby should it become obvious that knowledge of their presence has been lost."

_"That's quite the interesting history of the Autobot Special Ops, Optimus, but what does it have to do with Miss Gorman?" _For all that Optimus had asked for patience, the Vice President was obviously irritated by how what Optimus was saying seemed to have no bearing on my situation. The generals and Secretary of Defense, however, looked like they were starting to understand what was going on. In response, Optimus pinged my comm system with simple message: 'show them.' I grinned, then stepped forward.

"This, Mr. Vice President," I said, then turned and jumped off the railing. I heard Lennox make a gargled noise, but he fell silent quickly as I hit the ground - uninjured - and activated my transformation sequence. In moments, I was standing next to Optimus (albeit much shorter), staring back at the cameras.

"You're -" Lennox gaped.

"Autobot deep cover operative Lifesong, dispatched to Earth some time ago to investigate the possibility of allying with the native population and determining the feasibility of utilizing the planet's natural resources," I quipped. Prowl had said the details of my mission were to be top secret, but with the explanation Optimus had just given, I figured that would work. I grinned at the gaping mouths of everyone around me. "Also to find Jazz some new music. He was feeling the need to expand his collection, and he'd heard some interesting tunes coming from this corner of the galaxy."

_"While I do recall the report about the so-called Pretender, Alice, and her ability to look like a human, I was unaware that others of your kind had similar capabilities, or that such a size change was possible,"_ the Secretary of Defense spoke slowly, clearly picking his words carefully.

"Lifesong's ability to change size so drastically when she transforms is the result of an experimental transformation process involving subspace. We have very little idea how it actually works, as the project was the jurisdiction of Special Operations and, according to Jazz, terminated forcefully by the Decepticons. We were unaware until we discovered Lifesong here on Earth that there had been any successful trials," Optimus explained.

_"Jazz didn't share that with you?"_ the Secretary of Defense asked curiously.

"I suspect he felt it to be in Lifesong's best interests - the Decepticons destroyed the project and killed the scientist responsible due to the potential power of this ability. The scientist wouldn't work for them, and they didn't want the Autobots to have it. If they'd found out that there had been a successful trial, which could possibly be reverse engineered, Lifesong would never have been safe. Considering she happens to be Jazz's sister, that was the last thing he would have wanted," Optimus said. "I suspect he would have informed us after that war was over, but while it continued, he didn't tell anyone. Lifesong herself had to inform us of the project when we discovered her."

_"Yes, speaking of discovering her..."_ the Secretary of Defense trailed off.

"When Jazz first came to Earth, he and I had a brief exchange where he asked me to remain hidden - he didn't think his team would be on Earth for long, and my observations could still be useful in the future. So I remained hidden. However, despite your security, I was well aware of what happened at Mission City, and knew that with Jazz's death, the knowledge of my presence on this planet was likely lost. When Optimus sent his transmission calling the Autobots to Earth, I realized that we would maintain a presence on the planet. So I chose to wait, to see if I was approached by any possible successor to Jazz's position, who might be aware of me.

"It eventually became obvious that none of the Autobots knew of my presence, so when Magnus literally showed up on my doorstep, I chose to take the opportunity presented to me. Didn't hurt that he's not bad looking," I added the last with a grin. "At any rate, after assuring myself that he was on the level, I told him who I was. Magnus, of course, told Optimus and Prowl, and they decided to end my mission. So I returned to the Autobot base."

_"Interesting...very interesting. I assume your reluctance to inform us of these events is due to Lifesong's transformation abilities?"_ the Secretary of Defense asked.

"Indeed. Lifesong's transformation capabilities are a very powerful tool, and while we have no intentions to misuse them, we did not want to cause unnecessary tension," Optimus said somberly.

_"Had you informed us of this two years ago, Prime, we may not have believed you. You have proven true to your word though - thank you for telling us about this,"_ the Vice President spoke formally. _"You'll understand, however, if we request to be informed about any mission you send Lifesong on that will require use of her human alternate form?"_

"Naturally," Optimus said with a nod. "So long as you understand that she may frequently be in her alternate form for various reasons, not all of which are missions."

_"Of course, the same as any of you,"_ the Secretary of Defense said quickly, before anyone else could speak up. Probably because the generals were looking ready to protest - though, as it turned out, not entirely because of Optimus's statement.

_"If what you're saying is true, Prime, then you _obviously_ didn't find her up on the Moon. So what _was_ up there?"_ one of them asked grouchily, and I mentally winced as I realized we seemed to have overlooked that little lie - or, I had. Optimus apparently had it covered.

"Lifesong's stockpile of supplies, actually," Optimus said. "In order for her to remain on Earth for so long, she had to have quite a collection of various spare parts and Energon. Apparently she caught a Decepticon sneaking around at one point, and after she chased him off, he passed on the information. Over the years, it grew from a stockpile to a major weapon. It has happened from time to time during our war - rumours making something grow out of proportion. Megatron isn't exactly known for checking out the truth behind rumours before going after them, and sometimes we Autobots have been guilty of the same mistake. We decided to use the opportunity presented to introduce her to you, though it didn't go quite as planned."

"I had rather thought I'd killed that particular 'Con," I put in, trying to help along the story. "Evidently not."

_"I see."_ The general looked as if he didn't know whether or not to believe us, and I didn't blame him. It was a bit of a stretch. But they decided they'd let it pass, at least, and with a few last formalities, mostly Optimus reassuring them that Prowl would contact them with details about any mission I went on, connections were cut. So I was left transformed in a hanger with Optimus and what appeared to be half of NEST - they seemed to have come out of nowhere during the conference, whether or not they were cleared to be there. Lennox apparently just now noticed them, as he scowled at the crowd.

"Hey! This was a _classified_ conference!" he snapped, and everybody quickly found other places to be. As they hurried out, Lennox turned his scowl to Optimus, crossing his arms across his chest. "So, Optimus. About this whole keeping me in the dark thing. I'm supposed to be one of your more _official_ liaisons - it doesn't look too good when half the time I'm as surprised as my superiors when you start explaining something."

"I know, and I apologize, Major," Optimus began.

"No, I don't think you do, Optimus," Lennox interrupted. "I'm not just a liaison, I thought I was a _friend_. And yet you're keeping me in the dark, the same as everyone else. I _don't_ appreciate it, and I can't _help you_ if you continue to do it." Optimus grimaced.

"You must understand, Major," he said. "We have had a recent influx of...old business, I suppose you could say, and we are still very used to being an insular society. It doesn't come naturally to us to share these sorts of things. Our instincts are to keep to ourselves whatever possible, even if events involve other races."

"Alright. Then how about I make things easier for you by asking a few questions?" Lennox said, and from the sudden mildness of his tone, I knew Optimus was in trouble. "What the hell showed up in SanFran that you guys are all searching for frantically? And who is that Vector guy _really?_ You say he's just another mech, but I find it rather convenient that he showed up right after Terry apparently takes a trip to the _future_ - and I know you're holding out on me about that, but I'll let that slide, I hate that sort of sci-fi stuff. Not to mention that when they think we humans aren't looking, I've seen other Autobots treat him with the same sort of deference they show _you_, Optimus." Optimus, surprisingly, started chuckling.

"Yes, I do believe it was no accident that the Allspark landed here." he said through his chuckles. "It's late now, but why don't we have a meeting tomorrow morning, with whoever you wish, and we'll fill you in?"

"Sure," Lennox said pleasantly. "0900, in the usual hanger? I can get - _Lifesong_ some quarters here on the base for the night, due to her alt form."

"That would be appreciated," Optimus said with a nod. We said our goodbyes, and headed outside. Optimus transformed once we got to the door, and I took my cue from him, climbing into his cab when he popped open the door. As we drove outside, I found myself appreciating his foresight - even hidden inside his cab as I was, half the NEST soldiers turned to stare as we passed.

"The meeting went well, at least," I said in an attempt to distract myself from the sudden attention as Optimus drove through the base.

"Remarkably well," Optimus replied. "I wonder that we might not have harmed our relations more by waiting than by telling them."

"I think with your introduction, they'll understand. If not, I'm sure Sam or someone can explain in more detail," I said dismissively.

"Or, perhaps, you?" Optimus suggested.

"Errr..." I realized now that I'd just been put in a perfect position as a human/Cybertronian liaison. "Fuck. You planned that, didn't you?" Optimus chuckled.

"Prowl did, actually. He realized when he arrived that while our relations are good, they teeter in a dangerous balance, where one misunderstanding can send them sliding into chaos. As someone who is both human and Cybertronian, you are in a unique position to stabilize that balance," Optimus said. "You can be assured that Magnus knew nothing of it, though."

"Well, that's something," I said with a sigh. "You realize I suck at talking to big official people, right?"

"Ratchet spoke rather highly of your ability to do so, following the events on the moon," Optimus commented.

"That - I had him there, prompting me!" I flailed verbally.

"Not for much, from what he said. We would have you accompany Prowl and I for the first little while, of course, so that you could learn," Optimus replied.

"I don't want to," I said with a pout, aware I was being childish. Optimus was silent for a moment.

"We cannot, of course, make you. It would be of great help to us, however," he said seriously, and I immediately felt bad for my childish complaints.

"Alright, alright," I sighed. "Let me...get used to the idea for a bit."

"Of course," Optimus agreed, then turned to his left and suddenly sped up a bit. "Lennox has contacted me with the details of your arrangements for the night - you'll be staying in the barracks."

"Well _that_ will be interesting."

"Think of it as a trial run as a liaison between us and the humans," Optimus suggested, and I snorted.

"Because it's going to be even remotely similar," I said.

"You will be attempting to fit it and help the humans understand who we are. It is exactly what you will be doing, should you accept," Optimus said. I realized he was right, and sighed.

"Alright then. Though I doubt there will be much socializing in the barracks," I said.

"Perhaps not, but you will have some free time before the meeting tomorrow," Optimus replied. "You don't need to worry about energon, either - there will be some at the meeting. For some reason the humans seem to be uncomfortable with having their traditional coffee at meetings when we have nothing, despite us not having to refuel as often or with such a variety of substances as them."

"It's part of the manners that are drummed into everyone as a kid," I said with a shrug. "We're taught to share and not be greedy, and in the grown up world of meetings, that means offering refreshments to others if we're having them."

"Mmm, Sam has said that, as well, but I still don't completely understand, I'm afraid." Optimus sounded genuinely puzzled, and I suspected that I could explain the custom of offering refreshments to him until I fell into stasis and still not get anywhere. I had apparently found my first cultural barrier, and as Optimus pulled to a stop in front of a building labeled as 'Women's Barracks' I decided to just let it go with a laugh.

"Just accept it and it'll be fine, Optimus," I said.

"Very well," Optimus replied, and we said our goodnights before I hopped out. As he drove away, I stood and stared at the door to the barracks for a bit. This was going to be my first night on Earth since that last night in my apartment with Magnus, a night that seemed a lifetime ago. It was going to be weird, even without the NEST soldiers staring at me. Shaking myself, I figured I might as well get things over with, and headed inside. Where I promptly realized I had no idea which room was mine. Fortunately, Lennox seemed to have anticipated that, and a corporal approached me when I entered.

"Lifesong. I'm Corporal Sibley. Major Lennox asked me to show you to your room for the night," she said, holding out a hand. I shook it, observing her carefully. Her expression and tone were neutral, so I couldn't tell what she thought of me. She was being polite, though, and there was no reason I shouldn't do the same. Even if I found being referred to as 'Lifesong' to be very, very strange.

"Of course, thank you," I said.

"This way, then," she said, motioning down the hall, and with a nod, I followed her as she set off. We went a fair distance through the building, and I wondered for a bit if that was on purpose, before telling myself I was being paranoid. I wasn't, however, being paranoid about how many conversations halted when we passed by, and resumed in whispers after we were gone. I felt like flapping my arms and quacking, just to give them something entertaining to stare at, at least. Finally, we reached our destination, Sibley turning right and entering a room, me following.

The room was simple, with a twin-sized bed and a bedside table with an alarm clock and a small lamp. A dresser stood to one side for clothes, and on top of it was a phone. There were no decorations in the room, unless one counted the curtains over the window, and besides the lamp, it was lit only by an overhead light.

"Sorry for the quality, but they were the best we could get ready on short notice," Sibley apologized as I stepped into the room.

"No worries. It's better than some apartments I've had," I said, thinking of some of my earlier apartments after arriving in this reality. Even the later apartments hadn't been that good. Turning to give Sibley a reassuring smile, I caught a flash of curiosity on her face before she smoothed it into neutrality again.

"Was there anything special you needed for tonight?" Sibley asked.

"No, not really, thank you," I said.

"Alright, if you find there is something you need, the phone will connect you to the base switchboard," Sibley said, motioning to the phone, and I nodded.

"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind," I said.

"Goodnight then, Lifesong," Sibley said, and I returned the farewell before Sibley left. I caught another curious look as she shut the door behind her on her way out, and smiled faintly. She very good at putting her curiosity aside to do her job. Looking around the room again, my gaze settled on the bed, and I suddenly wondered just how heavy my human alt form was. I hadn't had any troubles so far, but until today, I hadn't interacted with any human construction. The scaffolding I'd been on for the meeting hadn't even creaked, but one never knew. I went over to the bed and cautiously sat on the edge. It sagged perhaps a bit more than normal, and squeaked slightly when I moved on it, but otherwise didn't seem to have any problems, and so I stretched out, letting myself relax. It was surprisingly comfortable, but very different - both from what I'd become used to, and from my previous experiences as a human.

I pondered over that for a bit, then glanced at the clock - it was barely 9pm. Or rather, barely 2100, according to the clock. I felt silly trying to recharge this early, and considered heading outside, maybe wandering around a bit. Then I remembered that on a military base, they got up ridiculously early. I decided I might as well take the recharge while I could get it.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer:** Not mine!

**A/N:** Stuff happens, omg! ^.^ Please review!

**- Chapter 10 -**

Sure enough, at 6 o'clock the next morning, the obnoxious taps tune you always hear in army movies started playing from seemingly everywhere on the base, waking me out of my recharge, and I grouchily rolled off the bed. Looking back, I realized that I hadn't even crawled under the covers, so I simply neatened the few wrinkles I'd made before heading outside. My human instincts were telling me I should be seeking coffee at this time, and so I followed my nose to the mess hall. Even if I couldn't drink it, the smell would put me in a better mood - don't ask me how, but Cybertronians could apparently smell the same as humans, though they described it differently. My human mind smelled coffee, whereas a Cybertronian mind would smell soggy, burnt organic material. Vector and I had experimented with it during our week of freedom (actually, it had been prompted by being asked to move the coffee maker some of the NEST soldiers had left up on Ganymede to a new location - with my human alt form, I'd been deemed perfect for the job).

Of course, as soon as I entered the mess hall, every eye turned to me. I glowered a little, then made for the nearest empty chair by the coffee pot. Taking a deep breath, I relaxed in the chair, letting my eyes slide closed as I enjoyed the aroma. Around me, conversation gradually resumed, and I did my best not to listen in on the whispers that I could hear sprinkled around amidst the normally-voiced conversations - it seemed the NEST soldiers still hadn't quite realized how acute a Cybertronian's hearing was.

"I didn't expect to see _you_ here." The comment from Epps startled me out of my coffee-aroma enjoyment, and I looked up to find him sitting down across from me with a tray full of food.

"Coffee is the single best reason to protect Earth from getting pulverized by the Decepticons," I said solemnly. Epps quirked an eyebrow upwards.

"I didn't think you could drink the stuff," he said.

"Notice I do not have a mug in front of me," I said, motioning. "I can't drink it, but I can smell it."

"Autobots can smell?" Epps seemed entertained.

"Cybertronians can, yes. We just have different ways of describing smells, since we can analyze the chemical components of any smell we come across. For example, any other Cybertronian than me would describe the smell of coffee as being a soggy and burnt organic smell," I elaborated.

"But you're special, because you've been on Earth for...how long?" Epps asked, looking at me curiously.

"A long time," I said ambiguously. The dates Prowl and Magnus had come up with for my background put me on Earth from about 500AD on, but I didn't want to spread that around much, lest people start asking me about it. I had taken some classes in history, but any specialty was a bit before that. "Long enough to know that this specific soggy and burnt smell means coffee, and I've come to associate it with waking up in the morning. Hence my presence here."

"Ah, makes sense," Epps replied with a nod, then started in on his breakfast in earnest. I took the opportunity to glance around the mess hall now, and found that most of them seemed to have adjusted to my presence there. A few of them kept glancing in my direction, and there was one private who kept staring at me, even when his friends kept pulling his attention back to them. The rest, however, acted as if it was any normal morning, and I found myself feeling remarkably human for the first time in almost two months. It threw into sharp relief just how strange my life had become, and I spent the next little while contemplating that, only half-conscious of murmuring a 'goodbye' to Epps when he finished his breakfast. I didn't really focus on the real world again until a new companion sat down across from me.

"Magnus," I said, smiling as I saw the familiar holoform, and Magnus smiled back.

"Epps said I would find you here, deep in thought," he said.

"Ah, yes, just thinking about how quickly life can change," I said, purposefully ambiguous. The noise level in the mess hall had fallen again, and it wasn't entirely because there were fewer people eating now.

"Oh?" Magnus said, and something in his expression made me frown - a flash of nervousness. I wondered what he could have to be nervous about, and then I narrowed my eyes as I realized.

"He was lying. You _did_ know."

"About what?" Magnus tried to play innocent.

"Oh don't give me that - why else would he lay all the groundwork first, and then dump such a ridiculous job in my lap? Anyone else he would've asked ahead of time, but with you telling him it would be better not to, he'd stay silent," I accused. Magnus shifted uncomfortably for a moment, then hung his head.

"Alright, yes, I knew," he said with a sigh, and I glared at him.

"You realize, of course, that if I become some sort of liaison to Earth, I won't be spending near so much time up on Ganymede?" I asked.

"Yes, but unfortunately I cannot put my wants over the benefits of having you in such a position," Magnus said seriously, and I sighed.

"Of course not," I grumbled, then pushed myself up from the table. "Walk with me?" I asked him, and Magnus nodded, getting up and following me out of the mess hall. Eyeing his alt form sitting unassumingly outside, I contemplated turning 'walk' into 'drive', but then decided I wanted to stretch my legs a little. I transformed, and behind me, Magnus's holoform disappeared as he, too, transformed. He looked over at me once he finished transforming, and I nodded and started walking, Magnus beside me. It seemed my presence in the mess hall that morning had done more than I'd thought, as there weren't half as many stares today as there had been yesterday when I was driving around with Optimus.

I really was perfect as a liaison between the humans and Cybertronians, I realized as we walked. From the Cybertronian point of view, I was a human who was now one of them, and involved with one of them. I had proven myself knowledgeable about them, and willing to learn what I didn't already know. Some of their more complex social beliefs would probably be forever beyond me, but with Magnus's help, I would be able to understand more of them than any other human.

From the human perspective, I was a Cybertronian that had spent enough time on Earth to fool even my own race into thinking I was human. I understood their culture more than any other Cybertronian, because I had supposedly been there for the formation of most of it. I could explain Cybertronians to them in terms they would understand, and I could explain them to the Cybertronians.

From both sides, it was a perfect proposition. No one else could do the job quite so well, not at this time. Sam was good, but he was a human, with a human perspective. Certain Cybertronian aspects still escaped him, and when it came down to it, the human governments still saw him as a random boy trying to tell them how to do their job. He didn't have the authority that I would in their eyes. Lennox was better, but his loyalty was to his country. He was seen as being on the human's side, and not the Cybertronian's, and that made some of the Cybertronians wary of him, and the humans to assume that he would back them up in the end. Whether or not he would I wasn't about to bet on, but that wasn't what counted.

"Fuck," I said finally, sighing, and Magnus looked over at me as I stopped walking. "I hate being backed into a corner that I literally cannot get out of without totally destroying my life. You do realize that, right?"

"I know that you hate being in an important position less," Magnus said. "If we had given you the option, you would have flat-out refused."

"You know me far too well," I said with a sigh, and Magnus grinned.

"I try," he said.

"Yeah, well, if this is how you get when you _try_ at something, let's hope you never decide you want to try and take over the Autobots, cuz Optimus'll have absolutely _no_ chance," I said with a snort. Magnus chuckled.

"Fortunately for him, I dislike leadership positions as much as you." he said.

"Which is why you conspired to get me in one. Great. Thanks." I said sarcastically, and Magnus's grin drooped slightly. "Oh stop that, I'm teasing." I leaned over and gave him a light kiss. He quickly deepened it, only to break it a few moments later as someone did the Cybertronian equivalent of clearing their throat nearby. We looked over to find Prowl giving us an arched look.

"Optimus would like to see you both before the meeting this morning," he said, then turned on his heel and walked away.

"Well good morning to you, too, Prowl," I grumbled.

"He's just grumpy over the reminder that it's down to him and Ratchet as the single officers," Magnus said with a chuckle, and I laughed in reply.

"Maybe they should get together and solve the issue?" I joked in reply, and Magnus made a face.

"They'd kill each other," he said.

"Or they'd bond over the burden of dead mechs that they've lost, either in the med bay or by sending them into battle. It could be terribly romantic and full of angst," I said, sighing dramatically.

"You know, I could've sworn Prowl said Optimus wanted to talk to us," Magnus said with a grimace, heading off, and I followed him, laughing.

It wasn't far to the hanger where Optimus was, which, I realized when I entered and saw the energon on the table, was also the hanger we were going to have our meeting in shortly. Optimus invited us to sit, and we both did so, snagging some energon as we did so.

"What's up?" I asked once we were settled.

"I wanted to speak to you about the meeting we will be having shortly," Optimus said. "Prowl and I have decided that it is, perhaps, best if we tell the whole truth. At this point, anymore lies or half-lies will only further damage our relations with the humans should they be discovered." He looked at me when he said that, and I nodded.

"You're probably right. Humans can understand being lied to, but they're not too fond of being lied to multiple times, especially if they think they've shown you no reason not to trust them," I said.

"Exactly our thoughts," Optimus said with a nod.

"Though, just to clarify, the truth doesn't include telling them about the whole alternate reality thing, does it?" I asked, and Optimus chuckled.

"No, it doesn't," he said, then glanced at Magnus. "It does, however, include Primus. I don't know just what Magnus has explained to you, though, and I didn't want you to appear surprised at an inopportune moment during the meeting and destroy your cover story." Magnus snorted.

"Don't bother, she knows," he said, and Optimus scowled.

"Magnus -" he started.

"She already knew," Magnus interrupted. "I didn't disobey your order. She up and asked _me_ about Primus not long after I showed her who and what I was." Optimus glanced at me in surprise.

"I - see. It appears I have still not quite grasped how much you know about us, Terry," he said.

"Don't feel bad, it took Magnus awhile, too, and he got to play 20 questions with me," I said with a smile. "But don't worry, on the off chance that you say anything new and surprising to me during the meeting, I'll keep my expression neutral and badger one of you over the comms."

"Very well," Optimus said. "Then may I ask your opinion of how you think the humans will react? To Primus, I mean." He seemed honestly curious, so I thought about my answer for a bit.

"Favourably, most likely," I finally said. "Having a religion will make you more real, and the fact that it's monotheistic will allow them to relate to it."

"Technically, it's not," Optimus pointed out. "Unicron _is_ a god, and even if none of us follow him, we won't deny him that."

"No, but the humans will see him as a parallel to the devil or satan. You can stress the fact that he's a god if you want, but that would just create unnecessary conflict," I said. "When it comes down to it, though, I don't think they'll make a big issue out of it if you don't. Well, the normal ones won't. The strongly religious will naturally have an issue with it, but there's nothing you could do about them, anyways. Sooner or later they'd decide you needed to be converted and 'saved', whether or not they knew you had your own religion." I shrugged, and Optimus nodded.

"Very well," he said. "That's all until the meeting, then." I was surprised he wasn't asking if I'd thought about his proposed liaison job, but he must have decided to give me some time to think about it. I figured I'd let him. It wasn't long now until the meeting, anyways, so Magnus and I choose to stay, chatting quietly to each other as Optimus went over some datapads. Soon enough people and mechs began drifting in, and then it was time to start.

It was an oddly straight forward affair, all thing considered. Optimus prefaced it with a little speech about how they asked for the truth and now, for better or worse, they were getting it. Then he let me and Magnus have the floor, and with the help of the others, we told them everything about my little trip through time, including the events preceding and following it. Then Optimus got to explain the importance of Unicron, Primus, and Vector. I found myself glad that Vector wasn't there for that explanation, as Optimus let a little bit of his awe for the mech seep through - as young as he was, Vector was still one of the First Thirteen, and a legend to the modern generation of Cybertronians.

The people from NEST just sat and listened in silence for most of the explanation, only occasionally asking for clarification, which I usually supplied, with the subtle approval of Optimus. Finally, all the explanations were over, and the floor was turned over to the humans.

"Alright, one thing I don't understand," Epps said after several minutes of questions. "You can't find this Fallen guy, but this Herald chick could...and so can Lifesong?"

"No, I can't. I just -" I paused, thinking back to the events of the day. My sensors, I realized now, had not been screaming at me about the time bridge. I mean, they had been, but that wasn't all. "I...just picked up the time bridge." I continued shakily. Epps frowned. "Sorry, it's still very unsettling after all this time," I excused. Epps seemed to buy it, and Lennox spoke up with another question, something about finding the Fallen, and Optimus and Prowl had the floor. I tuned them out, and focused on my sensors. Concentrating, I began sorting through the log of that day, of the event I had detected in SanFran, picking out the time bridge and leaving the other thing they'd been screaming at me about - a higher priority, it seemed, than even a time bridge, but I couldn't get my systems to explain what exactly it was.

I had a hunch, however, and with a sick feeling, I turned my sensors outwards, around Earth, and told them to scan for the same thing. I figured if they could scream that loudly about something half-way across the country, anywhere else on Earth wouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately, I was right - not only about the distance I could scan, but about what I was scanning for. They picked up something in southern Africa, and when I tried to hone in on it a bit more, to narrow it down, I felt - a feedback, like a microphone too close to speakers, only in my sensors. What I had been scanning for was looking back at me. I yelped, cutting my sensors, and my attention snapped back to the meeting to find everyone staring at me.

"Excuse me." I jumped up and darted out of the hanger. Outside I transformed into my alt form, taking off for the less inhabited parts of the base, eventually finding my way into a storage room. Closing the door behind me, I took a deep breath and stepped into the middle of the room.

"Jazz you fragger, where the fuck are you!" I tried to remember the exact sensation I felt the two times he'd contacted me. It wasn't anything physical - my communications and sensor logs had no record of him ever having spoken to me, but there was a mental feeling there, a sense of surreality that I'd previously assumed was just my human mind trying to comprehend what was going on. Now, however, I latched onto that feeling, and lo and behold, Jazz suddenly wisped into existence in front of me, human sized and everything.

"You rang?" he asked brightly, and I stared at him.

"My body. It's the Herald's, isn't it?" I asked.

"Ooooh, you figured it out!" he said brightly.

"What the hell happened to the original occupant?" I demanded, trying not to let how freaked out I was seep into my voice.

"Oh, she's here, in the Matrix. By choice, actually. She got tired of wandering, and asked Primus to relieve her from her duties. He did," Jazz said with a shrug.

"And what, gave them to _me?_" My voice squeaked. "I can't even throw a decent punch, let alone fight the Fallen!"

"Despite some of the spectacular fights they got into that I'm sure Vector could describe to you, fighting someone like the Fallen isn't so much physical as it is psychological and spiritual," Jazz replied.

"I hate psychology and I'm an atheist!" I protested.

"Sure. So how am I here?" Jazz asked with a grin.

"Buh..." I paused. I'd pulled him there with my mind, out of the Matrix, an afterlife. "Oh."

"See? You have the ability, you just need to learn to used it," Jazz said, beaming brightly. I was about to snap something at him when the door opened behind me. We both turned to look, finding Magnus's hologram, currently looking a wee bit stunned. Jazz yelped.

"You saw nothing!" he said, pointing to Magnus, then disappeared.

"Uh..." Magnus said, staring at the spot Jazz had been.

"I told you I'd been talking to him," I grumbled, grabbing his arm and pulling him inside before shutting the door again.

"That was Jazz. Visiting you from the Matrix," Magnus said slowly.

"Yep, I dragged him - over? up? down? whatever - I dragged him here to have a chat," I said.

"You what?" Magnus looked at me incredulously. "From the beginning, please?" he asked plaintively.

"Um. I'm not really sure what the beginning is, to be honest," I said.

"How about from whatever made you run out of the conference room, then?" he said.

"The Fallen's in Madagascar," I replied promptly. Magnus stared at me some more, and I grimaced. "I realized, when Epps asked about the Herald and possibly me detecting the Fallen, that it _wasn't_ just the time bridge my sensors were screaming at me about in SanFran that day. They wouldn't tell me what else they were detecting, but I had a pretty good guess, and so I tried scanning for it again. I found it in Madagascar - and then it started looking back."

"Wait. You scanned Africa. From here? That's over the horizon. You shouldn't be able to do that."

"Probably not, but apparently the Herald can do a lot of things normal mechs and femmes can't," I said, sighing. Silence for a few beats.

"You're the Herald," Magnus said, his utter disbelief audible in his voice.

"Kinda? This body is the Herald's. According to Jazz, she got tired of running around the galaxy hunting the Fallen, and asked Primus to let her rest. So he did. She went to the Matrix, and left her body behind. It somehow got onto that moon, and, well, the rest you know," I replied.

"I..." Magnus seemed at a loss for words.

"Yeah," I agreed.

"We should tell Optimus," Magnus said after a few moments.

"Yeah," I agreed. Magnus just stood there, staring at me as I looked back at him. Then, suddenly, he broke the connection and started pacing rapidly.

"You think if I convert to another religion, Primus will stop fragging with my life?" he asked as he paced, and I cackled.

"Magnus love, I don't believe in _any_ god, and he _still_ fucked with mine," I replied. Magnus proceeded to curse quite fluently. Then he stopped as, I'm guessing, his comm system pinged at the same time as mine. Activating it, I found myself listening to a base-wide broadcast from Prowl, informing everyone that there was a large unidentified mech attacking Antananarivo - the capital of Madagascar. I cursed and headed for the door.

"Terry -" Magnus grabbed my arm. "You don't even know how to _fight_. Your weapons are still in safety mode!"

"Jazz said it was mostly psychological and spiritual anyways," I said with a grimace.

"And you have even _less_ of an idea how to wield _those_ weapons than physical ones!" Magnus replied.

"So what, I should just let him tear up a city?" I demanded, and Magnus opened his mouth, then close it again, grimacing. "Yeah, I don't like it either."

"I'm not leaving your side," he said firmly.

"Wouldn't want you to," I said seriously, and with that, we headed out, Magnus's hologram blinking out as I exited the storage room and headed for his alt form. We both transformed, heading for where the Autobots were gathering, getting ready for a mass space bridge around the world. Prowl, of course, objected to my presence as soon as he spotted me, knowing how weak my combat skills were. I was all set to start the argument, and explanation, all over again when I felt something, reaching out to me.

_Where are you want to see you crush you destroy you felt you looking for me here I am now where are you come to me -_

I'd bridged on instinct, not stopping to wonder about the personal space bridge I'd just discovered I had. Magnus, who had been resting a hand on my shoulder, came with me - straight into chaos.

* * *

I'd never been to Madagascar before, let alone their capital, but I was fairly sure this was one of Antananarivo's worse days. The sky was black with smoke, fires raged everywhere, and the cries and prayers of the injured rose from destroyed buildings. In the midst of it all stood the Fallen, twice as tall as Optimus and as proportionately bulky as Megatron. Even amoungst all the destruction, he was clearly visible, pure black in a way that only black holes ever managed, his only features visible thanks to the fire pouring from inside of him, escaping where it could - through his optics, his mouth, joints, a grill on the front. He looked like hell on Earth, and he turned to look straight at me as soon as I appeared.

_There you are looking for you here you are now to crush destroy burn end this now -_

I reeled back at the mental onslaught, and Magnus caught me, his arms wrapped around me, helping to ground me. I reached out, desperately hoping to get some last minute advice from Jazz as the Fallen turned fully in my direction and started advancing. Instead, I touched...someone else.

_A neverending cycle, destroy or be destroyed. A curse, a gift, they thought we could settle their differences for them, but we are locked forever in combat as they are. We are tied, linked, forever at odds. No more, no more. I will not fight, I will not die, I will not continue the cycle. He wants it to end as much as I, but neither of us can walk away while the other exists. Only that untouched by them/blessed by them can break the cycle. But not yet, not now, not here. You are not ready._

Light, exploding outwards, washing over everything. I saw a ghost before me, an image of the golden femme that Vector had shown us, reaching out a hand to the Fallen, who froze in place. Then the light was gone, and the Fallen seemed to collapse in on himself, bridging in his own way, disappearing into nothingness, but not before leaving me with a parting shot.

_Freedom so close close close you will deliver life you will fail crush burn destroy him and then you -_

I was left standing, Magnus's arms wrapped around me, in the midst of a burning and destroyed Antananarivo, just as the other Autobots bridged in, weapons drawn. They looked around in confusion.

"What happened?" Sideswipe asked.

"I don't know, but I feel like now would be a really good time to fall unconscious," I said, feeling more than a little ill, despite not actually being able to be ill anymore.

"Don't you dare," Magnus said from behind me. "I'm _not_ explaining all this." I groaned.

* * *

Despite his refusal to explain, Magnus gave Optimus a quick explanation, basically just saying that the Fallen was gone, and then rushed me back to Ganymede as quickly as possible. Ratchet, and the other Autobot medics, had bridged down to deal with aftermath, so there was no one to look me over in med bay like Magnus wanted, but I assured him was fine, if a little tired. He tried to bundle me off to our quarters to recharge at that admission, but I refused to be left alone, so he let me join him in the command center, where he was helping to organize the cleanup. Some of the other mechs in the command center gave me a strange look, but I ignored them. I had other things to think about, such as what exactly had happened in Antananarivo.

Everything was a bit of a blurr, including the conversation that had gone on in my head without my say-so. I was fairly sure it had been the Fallen and the Herald, both speaking to me, but also to each other. They were trying to tell me something - something to do with me - but I found it hard to focus on their words. I could clearly identify the events in sequence, but the details, the exact words, refused to make sense. When I found myself puzzling over why Magnus had his arms wrapped around me I decided to give it a rest, and found a comfortable position to fall into recharge. When I woke again, it was in Magnus's and my quarters, with a quiet conversation going on not far away. Looking over, I found Optimus, Vector, and Magnus speaking softly, seated in Magnus's little sitting area. Vector noticed I was awake first, looking over at me and smiling faintly.

"Perhaps you should try to explain. Magnus doesn't seem to know much of what happened in Antananarivo," he said, alerting the other two to the fact that I was awake.

"I'm not sure I know anything more," I said, sitting up and shaking myself slightly before joining the three mechs.

"Considering all I know was we showed up, there was light, a ghost of the femme that Vector showed us, and then the ghost, light, and the Fallen disappeared, I think you're bound to know more than me," Magnus said.

"There's not much more to know, to be honest," I said, shaking my head. "I mean, there were...voices. But..." I trailed off.

"Voices?" Optimus asked curiously.

"Yeah. The Fallen. And I think the Herald," I said thoughtfully.

"I didn't hear anything," Magnus commented.

"No, it was in my head. The Fallen was going on about destroying me, and...ending it." With some rest behind me, things were slowly sliding into place, making sense. "They're tired of fighting. Both of them. It's why the Herald asked Primus to let her return to the Matrix. The Fallen couldn't give up, though, and so they're stuck fighting."

"But you said the Herald went to the Matrix," Magnus pointed out.

"She didn't die, though. She went willingly, just gave up her body and left. I think that means she's not as restricted as others in the Matrix. She can still come back. And the fact that this is her natural body is, I think, the reason I have 'ties to the afterlife that others don't', to quote Jazz," I said.

"Her natural body?" Optimus asked, looking startled.

"Oh right, I didn't have time to share that particular revelation," I mused, and explained to them about my encounter with Jazz after the meeting with the NEST personnel, and what he'd told me. Vector seemed both disturbed and fascinated, while Optimus just looked disturbed.

"Does this means she could possess you?" he asked. "Or that you're possessing _her?_"

"Um. Both and neither?" I said. "I mean, this is her body, but she left it behind. So technically I'm not possessing her, but I think she could return if she wanted to, and take over. I think she did a bit in Madagascar, and that's where the light came from. But she doesn't want to - she wants to break the cycle. She wants to stop fighting, and so does the Fallen. Except they can't, unless - what was it she said? 'Only that untouched by them blessed by them can break the cycle'." I couldn't make much sense out of it, but Vector seemed to understand right away.

"Well that's pretty much impossible," he commented. "I mean, even if they are _Cybertronian_ gods, they're still gods. Anything that interacts with any of their race, especially the Fallen and the Herald, is touched by them. And anything blessed by them is obviously touched by them."

"What about something from another reality where they don't exist? Would that still count as being touched by them, even if it had interacted with a Cybertronian?" I asked. Vector frowned, and Optimus and Magnus went still.

"That would probably do it," he said. "I don't know much about different realities, that was Fracture's area as the Guardian of the Prime Realities, but I remember him commenting about how different realities repel each other or something. I'd assume individual things from different realities would repel each other, too. But then if it was blessed by them..." Vector trailed off. "It's a contradiction in terms."

"No. It's not," Optimus said. "In order to break a divine cycle, you would need something untouched by a divine, otherwise it would get caught up in the cycle. But in order to affect that cycle, you would have to be touched by those divine involved, or else everything you'd do would be futile, unable to alter the events because you wouldn't be tied to them in any way. So you would needed something both untouched and touched by them to break the cycle."

"Exactly, a contradiction," Vector said, giving Optimus an odd look.

"A contradiction that's sitting right in front of you," I said softly, and Vector turned to me with a frown.

"What?" he asked.

"We never told you, but I'm from another reality," I said. "And I'm in the body of the Herald. Untouched, repelling things from this reality - and yet forced into the body of the Herald of fucking Primus, presumably blessed by him."

"Oh," Vector said after a few moments.

"And _you_, in the future, had something to do with this," I said, glaring at him.

"Most of the First Thirteen did." The new voice startled us all, and we turned to find a new mech suddenly standing in the room, by the window. He was as tall as Magnus, but slender, wiry in a way that reminded me of the stereotypical high school geeks who had big wire-rim glasses and went to chess club. His plating was green and gold, lightweight, but with a shimmer to it that made me suspect a forcefield. He had no visible weapons, and I suspected that was because he got by on charm - for all that his face was elongated and thin, there was some indefinably quality to him that made me want to trust him.

"Fracture!" Vector exclaimed happily.

"Hello Vector," the new mech, presumably Fracture, said with a smile. "I see I finally get to find out what happened on your first time trip." Vector grinned.

"Well, my instruction in time bridging _was _prefaced with 'don't tell anyone about your jumps'," he said, and Fracture snorted.

"I'll refrain from comment on that, to protect the time continuum," he said. "Besides, messing with your past, present, and future is not why I'm here."

"Yes, let's get to the reason why you _are_ here, and why you pulled me from my reality and dumped me here," I said pleasantly. Magnus started slightly, probably not having figured that part out yet. It wasn't too hard of a jump for me to make, though - if someone had told me one of the First Thirteen was a guardian of reality or whatever, I would have figured it out sooner.

"You already know why," Fracture said. "To end the cycle that Primus and Unicron began with the Herald and the Fallen."

"Yes, but _why?_ Why not just let them go on fighting for all eternity, like they were meant to?" I asked, waving my hand through the air vaguely.

"Because they do not want to, and in the end, if they continue, their combat will engulf the galaxy, driving it to destroy itself. Chaos versus order, on a galactic scale," Fracture said.

"Wait, I think I've heard this before," I said, eyeing Fracture. "Can I just tell them to get the hell out of our galaxy?" Fracture laughed.

"An admirable sentiment, but unfortunately the situation is not quite the same as in that delightful television show," he said, proving that he knew a fair bit about Earth culture. "They are the only two of their kind, and they fight not only for ideological reasons, but also because they have to. Telling them to go elsewhere would just doom that elsewhere. The fighting must be stopped. For this reason, the remaining members of the first thirteen conspired to convince Primus to let the Herald leave her duties, to go to the Matrix and leave her body behind. Then we left it on the moon - for you."

"But how did you know to leave it for me, if you had to pull me in from another reality?" I asked.

"Vector. He showed up with all the necessary information," Fracture said with a shrug. "He still hasn't explained to me how he got it, though I suspect his presence here, now, may have something to do with it." Vector just shrugged, and I frowned.

"OK. But then how did you know to get me?" I asked.

"It's something that I've been investigating for awhile," Fracture said, his gaze skipping to Magnus. "Having a pair of sparkmates in different realities leaves a rather...distinctive trail, but I was having difficulty tracking it down until recently - I suspect because you were not technically alive in your reality. Truthfully, I didn't know you were the one we were waiting for until you opened that door on Earth's moon." Fracture glared at Vector at that.

"I was told by Primus not to say anything!" Vector said defensively, and once again Fracture snorted.

"Or you just enjoy being contrary," he said.

"I don't. Now." Vector looked confused, then frowned. "I think I will, though, if all time travel is this fragging confusing."

"Remind me to show you every piece of human literature on time travel ever written to help confirm that," I told him cheerfully, and Vector grimaced. I chuckled, then turned back to Fracture. "OK, so you just grabbed me to solve the whole sparkmates across realities thing, then found out I was the one Vector had told you guys to design that facility on the moon for. This is, somehow, making a teensy bit of sense."

"You're not the only one that's had trouble grasping it, believe me," Fracture said with a grimace.

"Heh. Ok. So then one last question," I said.

"Go ahead," Fracture said with a nod.

"Why are you here, telling us all this?" I asked. Fracture chuckled.

"Because someone, my dear, has to teach you how to break the cycle. And tell Ratchet how to fix Vector's time bridge, since it's disrupting the timestream and preventing him from bridging in for some time in either direction. If it's not fixed soon, he won't be able to prevent the coming apocalypse on Earth," Fracture said. "I was fortunate enough to run into an alternate reality where you had Wheeljack instead of Ratchet - the fix is relatively easy."

"That's some good news, at least," I said with a sigh.


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** Not mine!

**A/N:** *cough* Right, um...don't ask where this chapter has been. Because it totally hasn't just been sitting on my harddrive gathering dust. Nope. Er...please review anyways?

**- Chapter 11 -**

Fracture wasn't kidding about Vector's time bridge being an easy fix - within the day, it was done. Vector, of course, immediately tried to jump again, and promptly knocked himself out. When he came to, Fracture whacked him and reminded him that the timestream was still damaged - he couldn't go anywhere until it cleared up. And Fracture had no idea how long that would be, so Vector just had to wait.

Then Fracture's attention turned to me, and I was quite joyful as I realized I could essentially use him as a user manual for my new body. He knew pretty much anything I needed to know, and was happy to supply the answers, saying that understanding how the body worked would allow me to feel comfortable enough to defeat the Fallen and break the cycle. I still wasn't sure how that was going to work, but Fracture seemed certain enough of my success.

Of course, while I was happily playing 2000 questions with Fracture, the other Autobots were having to deal with the aftermath of the Fallen's attack, and Fracture's sudden appearance. Magnus explained some of what was going on to me, and actually had a still shot of Lennox's face when they informed him _another _Prime had just appeared out of nowhere - because, of course, technically all of the first thirteen were Primes. Only the Herald had had the Matrix of Leadership, but it all came back to that being-a-Prime-without-a-matrix thing that was apparently based more on the physical than anything else. Which, when I stopped and thought about it, probably made _me _a Prime, and I did not want to think about that, so I just ignored it and didn't ask anyone to confirm or deny that supposition. I had enough on my plate.

The aftermath from Antananarivo was, unfortunately, not quite so entertaining. The Autobots had passed off the Fallen's attack as some sort of experimental Decepticon super weapon, which had the human governments running a bit scared, despite all assurances that it was being dealt with. Adding to that was the fact that the governments were having more and more trouble explaining away Cybertronian-related incidents, and it almost looked as if this incident would be the proverbial straw, collapsing their fine web of lies. The public at large certainly wasn't inclined to just sit back and take whatever they were told like usual. It wasn't helped by the fact that Megatron seemed to be getting curious about what the hell was going on, and had started nosing around Madagascar. Fortunately, he was still blocked from bridging onto the moon, but he was making a right nuisance of himself on Earth, and around Jupiter. Most of Soundwave's symbiotes had been found and ejected more than twice in the course of two weeks, and Soundwave himself, with a bodyguard of seeker jets, had to be chased off from near Ganymede, presumably trying to grab someone to interrogate.

In the midst of this controlled chaos, we had the unexpected, but welcome, return of Elita. I'd wondered where she was occasionally, but nobody seemed overly concerned by her absence, so I figured she was off on a mission somewhere. It appeared I was right, as she arrived in a ship with a new group of Autobots. I wasn't there for the official greeting, but I was in The Lounge when the majority of them came in with energon (the dispenser was _still_ not working - I was about ready to give up and replace it with a jukebox). One Chromia was apparently missing, having not been seen since she tackled Ironhide on the tarmac, and the subsequent wrestling match had rolled the two of them out of sight.

Of course, that was when everyone realized no one had had the opportunity to explain about me to Elita, and there was a strange tableau as Magnus, playing tour guide, introduced me.

"Weren't you...human the last time I saw you?" Elita asked, looking confused.

"Right, I forgot you left before that," Magnus said apologetically.

"Long story short, blame the First Thirteen," I supplied.

"The First Thirteen?" Elita looked even more confused.

"Er, why don't you sit down, and we can explain. It's a bit of a long story," Magnus said, motioning to a table, and Elita gladly joined us at it, listening intently as Magnus and I - ok, mostly Magnus, with me heckling - explained about what she'd missed in regards to me, including the fact that there were now two of the First Thirteen (technically three if you counted my body) on Ganymede. When he finished, Elita just shook her head.

"Well, you've had an interesting few months while I've been gone," she said.

"From what I've heard so far, yours have been interesting as well. I thought I heard Streak mention that she was sworn to silence on pain of dismemberment over something?" Magnus asked curiously, and Elita laughed.

"Yes, well, let's just say there's a reason Chromia sent that distress call to me, and expressly requested that I come alone," she said. "They weren't in trouble so much as they were in a rather embarrassing situation, with Chromia at the spark of it, as usual. She's sworn us all to silence."

"And since when has that ever stopped you?" Magnus asked with amusement.

"Perhaps later, when she's around to overhear and react," Elita said, optics twinkling with mischief, then turned and started asking me about Earth, and my experiences with, and as, a Cybertronian so far. We talked for a couple hours, until Optimus showed up, apparently having bridged in from Earth as soon as possible, and then he and Elita disappeared. Magnus, unfortunately, had duties he needed to get back to at that point, and regretfully said goodbye, leaving me in The Lounge by myself. I took the opportunity to mingle, chat with the new arrivals, to whom I was just another femme they didn't know. A few of the new mechs, I was amused to note, tried to flirt, and I did my best to dissuade them. They'd find out soon enough that they had no chance. The new group were a livelier bunch that most of the mechs on Ganymede, though, clearly relieved at the end of their long journey. Their party eventually left The Lounge, heading to private quarters or the official Recreation Room, which had a couple holographic screens and a working energon dispenser.

Elita left with Optimus the next day, but Chromia wasn't cleared for going to Earth yet, so Ironhide stuck around. He was part of the reason that Magnus was fairly sure that despite the humans growing wariness over gun-happy Autobots, they'd let Chromia down to Earth. The humans generally liked Ironhide, and he'd cheerfully stated that he was staying on the same planetoid as his mate for the next century, and Primus help anyone who tried to make him do any different. It spoke volumes that Optimus had just accepted that at face value and assigned another Autobot to temporarily replace Ironhide until it was decided if Chromia could go to Earth.

It turned out to be a good thing they stayed, though, as four days later, Megatron apparently decided he'd had enough of snooping around the Autobot and NEST bases, trying to figure out what we were up to, and just showed up at the Ganymede base himself, with support staff. Vector, Fracture, and I were ordered to remain hidden as the Autobots went out to meet them, so we watched from the command center. The combat was swift and brutal, and seemed mostly an exploratory mission, testing defenses. I didn't even realize Soundwave was with them until I felt the tickle at my mind. It was like when the Fallen and the Herald had spoken in my mind, but much weaker, much softer.

"Do you guys feel that?" I straightened in my chair in surprise, and Vector and Fracture looked at me.

"Do we feel what?" Vector asked curiously. They obviously weren't getting the same sensation, or they would know what I meant. I debated for a moment whether or not to let that seeking probe in. I knew I could block it out, but at the same time, I had to wonder - we were dealing with some pretty big things here, and maybe _all_ the Cybertronians should be in on it.

I let Soundwave in. It was entirely different from the Fallen and the Herald, as Soundwave was actually looking for information, and didn't want to talk. A role reversal - I wanted to talk, and didn't want to just give away information willy-nilly. I think I startled Soundwave when I spoke to him.

_Hello there, is there something I could help you with?_ I asked politely.

_Query: identity._ Soundwave asked.

_I have about six different names at this point, but you can call me Terry, if you like._

_Terry: human in origin. Fact: humans do not have telepaths. Query: how are you speaking with me?_ Soundwave seemed puzzled, even through his monotone.

_Oh, I'm Cybertronian. Or, at least, my body is. Tell me, does Megatron do anything silly like worship Unicron?_ I asked casually. The immediate negative, so fast it could only have been an instinctive reaction, answered that question.

_Statement: I will not answer any further questions. Fact: you will answer _my_ questions._ Soundwave said firmly.

_Oh no, I don't think so._ I replied politely, then shoved Soundwave out on his aft. He tried probing again, but this time I let him hit a mental brick wall. He eventually gave up.

"Having fun playing with Soundwave?" Fracture seemed to know exactly what I was doing, startling me away from putting mental 'graffiti' on my wall, mostly involving mighty ducks. Not that Soundwave would appreciate it, but hey. The more detailed a mental wall I could imagine, the stronger it was, I figured.

"Nah, he's kinda boring." I said with a shrug. "All work and no play makes Soundwave a dull boy." Fracture and Vector exchanged confused glances, clearly not getting the reference. "So, why did I pick up his mental probe and not you two?"

"Probably because you're telepathic now," Fracture said off-handedly, and I spluttered.

"I'm what?" I demanded when I'd recovered.

"Cybertronian telepathy is partially based on the abilities of the spark, but also on upgrades. A telepathic spark will be telepathic no matter what, for example, while a non-telepathic spark given a body with telepathic upgrades has a one in one hundred chance of being telepathic until or if they lose those upgrades. Considering the strength of the Herald's natural telepathy, and by extension, her telepathic upgrades, and taking into account what you're meant to do, I had expected you to manifest telepathically at some point," Fracture explained.

"And you didn't think to, I dunno, _warn me_?" I asked incredulously.

"Why make you worry over something that hadn't happened yet?" Fracture said with a shrug. "You've got enough to worry about as it is, and in reality, telepathy doesn't manifest the way your human media has suppositioned. It happens slowly, with plenty of warning, so that those who are watching for the signs can identify it. I knew I'd notice when you started showing signs. Though, I must admit, I hadn't expected you to manifest by carrying on a conversation with Soundwave."

"I didn't," I told him incredulously. "I manifested when the Fallen and the Herald started tromping through my head in Antananarivo." Fracture frowned.

"Oh. Well, regardless, now that you're aware of it, I can start training you in how to use it!" he said, far too cheerfully. I found myself listening in shock as Fracture just up and started rambling about telepaths, completely ignoring the battle still going on outside. I listened for a little while as he went on about how Cybertronian telepaths were more sensitive to each other than to non-telepathic mechs, making it really good that they were so rare, because otherwise they could have developed a hive-mind and that could've gone badly for those not telepathic. The battle was distracting, though, and eventually I just started tuning him out. He, apparently, didn't notice, and when the battle ended not long after, Vector had to tell him to shut the frag up as the three of us went to help.

Having not seen the aftermath of a battle before, it was a somewhat shocking experience for me - mostly because I wasn't nearly as horrified as I thought I should have been. Mechs were injured, one had been killed, yes, and the base was damaged in some areas, but I didn't find myself horrified by any of it. Instead, I just got to work, helping where I could, doing whatever the medics asked. Part of it might have been that those I knew well that had been in the battle - Ironhide and Magnus - were fine, and the only injured Autobots I saw were those that I didn't know all that well. Magnus was also quick to reassure me that it had been a minor battle, and that except for the one dead Autobots, everyone would recover and be in full fighting form with a few days. Besides, there were two dead Decepticons on the field, too.

I didn't tell Magnus about my little conversation with Soundwave - I was still a little freaked out about the whole telepathy thing, and Fracture wasn't helping. Besides that, I didn't think Magnus would react well, as he _had _been part of the meeting where the Autobots had decided not to tell Megatron about the Fallen being in the area. Thinking on it afterwards, I also realized just how ballsy I was being, going against the advice of all the officers, whether or not they knew it. For a few days, I was praying that Soundwave would just forget the whole thing. Then I remembered the look on his face when his officers advised against telling Megatron, and I knew that while they might not want it, Optimus did.

At any rate, the decision of whether or not the Decepticons would take the breadcrumb I'd laid down for them was out of my hands, and I tried not to obsess over it too much - especially since Chromia apparently decided that me not knowing how to fight was an offence against her personal beliefs, and had set out to personally train me. And training with Chromia requires ones _full_ attention, at _all_ times - that is, if you call 'training' running from rock to rock, dodging Chromia's cannon and occasionally trying to shoot back only to fall on your aft and get laughed at because you're not used to the recoil from your own cannon.

When I finally escaped from Chromia in the evening - I never thought I would be so glad to see Ironhide looking lecherous - I immediately hid in Magnus's and my quarters, quietly reading _The Odyssey_ on a datapad until Magnus got back.

"How di-"

"Don't. Ask," I growled - he'd been there when Chromia had hauled me off. "Just clear her for Earth. Now." Magnus chuckled.

"I'll do my best, but in the meantime, you could use the training," he said, trying to be soothing. I glared at him. "Er - why don't I go get us some energon?" He fled, and when he came back with energon, he also had, either by design or by coincidence, Vector with him. Vector, who had been left struggling with the uncooperative energon dispenser in The Lounge while I'd been 'training', and looked about as pissed as me.

"I have a better idea. We're not _replacing _it with a jukebox, we're _turning _it into a jukebox," he growled in greeting, the start of a rant that lasted for my entire cube of energon about the stupidity of the dispenser and the many miserable, grisly deaths he wanted to subject it to. When Vector's rant finished, he and I started plotting what to actually do about the dispenser, and making plans to start working on it the next day - starting as early as possible, so that I could be Very Busy by the time Chromia came looking for me again.

Magnus, meanwhile, retreated with his cube to the berth, acquiring a datapad - my copy of _The Odyssey_, I think - and paying rapt attention to it. When Vector finally left, and I went to join Magnus on the berth, I discovered he'd actually fallen into recharge while pretending to read the datapad. Amused, I put the datapad away and joined him.

Vector and I managed to successfully appear Very Busy tearing out the energon dispenser by the time Chromia came looking for me the next day, and I went about the job much more gleefully by the time she left. Of course, then Fracture showed up to tell me how I should really take the training while it was being offered, especially considering the source.

"I'll willfully take combat training from Chromia when you do, Fracture," I told him pleasantly. Fracture had mentioned, more than once, that he was a pacifist.

"I don't have an upcoming battle with the Fallen," Fracture replied disapprovingly.

"Yeah, and a little birdie told me that battle wouldn't exactly depend on physical prowess," I said as I ripped some of the last remains of the energon dispenser out of the wall.

"It still wouldn't hurt to learn," Fracture said.

"Tell you what - once Chromia is off Ganymede, I will find someone who is _on_ Ganymede to teach me how to fight. The implication being, of course, that I will learn how to fight from anyone _but_ Chromia. Understood?" I asked, frowning as I turned to Fracture.

"Very well," he said with a sigh. "Then how about your mental training?"

"Not today! Today is the Execution of the Energon Dispenser!" I said, doing one last check over the hole in the wall where the energon dispenser had once sat for any last components.

"The well deserved and totally justified, not to mention bound to be extremely satisfying, execution," Vector elaborated from off to the side, where he was crating up all the various parts.

"Also, target practice!" I said cheerfully, grinning at Fracture. He sighed.

"Very well, perhaps tomorrow, if you insist on fleeing Chromia again," he said.

"Tomorrow it is," I told him, and he left Vector and I to finish cleaning up. Once everything was in the appropriate boxes, we took the ones with salvageable parts to storage, labeled 'Wheeljack's Stuff' (it was, amusingly, the general term for all odds and ends around Autobot bases - Magnus had explained that it had started as a joke, then took off as a readily identifiable category of materials). The actual energon dispenser mechanism, however, we took outside, where we set it down on the edge of the base and cheerfully began blasting at it.

_"Terry, what are you and Vector doing?"_ Magnus's puzzled comm interrupted us a few moments after we began.

"Blowing the crap out of the remains of the energon dispenser!" I told him cheerfully.

_"Ah."_ He wisely didn't try to suggest that we should salvage it, and left us to it.

Which was, as it turned out, the last thing he should have done. Vector and I, in order to limit the risk of shrapnel or a stray shot damaging anything on the base, had gone out to the edges of the defenses - and it was apparently just the opportunity Megatron had been looking for.

The Decepticons tripped seven kinds of alarms the moment they stepped inside the base sensor net, but it didn't matter. Soundwave was with them, directing the kidnapping and jamming our transmissions from the moment they moved, and as big as they were, they quickly overwhelmed us. They'd dragged us outside the bridge jamming field before the Autobots even got outside the base, and we were gone moments later.

As soon as we appeared on the Decepticon base, we were put in stasis cuffs, and shoved onto our knees in front of none other than Megatron. His smile as he looked down at us was insufferably smug, and I wanted to wipe it off with my cannon, even if I ended up on my backside from the recoil.

"I see you were successful, Soundwave," he said, his gaze sliding from me to Vector and back again. "I believe it's time you and I had a talk. Or rather, I believe it's time you talked...about everything you know." Soundwave stepped over at that, and I felt a tickle at my mind. It was stronger than when I'd spoken with Soundwave before, and I knew he was putting his full strength behind it now. Thanks to the hardware in the Herald's body, though, he was still no match for me - especially since I was pissed as hell, and wanted to let him know it. I lashed out at the telepath like Fracture had been teaching me to do against the Fallen - though, considering how much weaker Soundwave's mental defenses were, I may have used a bit too much power. Soundwave didn't even make a noise, just going down like a puppet with its strings cut, his optics dark. He wasn't dead, but boy was his processor gonna ache when he woke up. Megatron was, naturally, not pleased.

"Very well, if you are going to be difficult, I'll use other methods -" he motioned to a mech in the background.

"How about you just ask your questions, huh?" I asked sarcastically. "Maybe if you ask nicely enough, I might even _tell you_ what you want to know, _willingly_." My reply was a fist across the face.

"Or I could let Astrotrain have his fun, _and_ get my answers," Megatron said from the other side of the large grinning mech now blocking my field of vision.

"Oh great," I muttered as Astrotrain's fist smashed into my shoulder, bending the armor - my frame was not meant for heavy combat. Which meant this was probably going to get messy, and fast. I took comfort in the fact that Astrotrain just seemed to be enjoying having someone to punch, and not focusing on pain, though - his hits hurt, but they were bearable. Not that I didn't end up calling Astrotrain, and every other Decepticon, every obscenity I could think of - especially once I caught a glimpse of Vector, being held back by one of the other Decepticons. The young Prime looked shell-shocked, and I realized that this was the first violence of this kind that he'd seen. So I cursed them extra, just for that, as Astrotrain continued to have his 'fun'.

Megatron, the slagger, didn't even ask any questions until Astrotrain finally stopped. And then, the questions he asked were not the ones I'd been expecting - I'd been thinking that he was finally following up on the breadcrumb I'd dropped, but no, it appeared that he was just looking for access codes, comm frequencies, and other such strategically important things that I knew nothing about. What little I caught of his dire threats and rants while Astrotrain pummeled me made me realize that Soundwave probably hadn't even shared his encounter with me, and Megatron had given up on finding out what happened in Madagascar, and was now just seeking a way to get back at the Autobots after his defeat the other day. I decided that I was glad that Soundwave hadn't shared - Megatron could get swallowed whole by Unicron, for all I cared.

Finally, as my system warnings were starting to get serious, Megatron decided we were done for the day, and he and Astrotrain left. Vector and I were then dragged down to the brig, where we were unceremoniously tossed in. Vector recovered easily, but for me, it almost looked like that toss into the brig would be the part that sent me into stasis. I managed to hold off, though, as Vector hurried over. Looking at the anguish on his face, I felt sorry for the young Prime, and as my self-repair systems got to work, I summoned a weak smile for him.

"I guess we know what was wrong with the energon dispenser - it was a Decepticon in disguise," I said. Vector didn't even manage a small smile, watching me with the most miserable expression on his face that I'd ever seen.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"This isn't your fault," I told him. "It's nobody but ol' bucket-head's."

"But I should have -" Vector's exclamation cut off suddenly as he glanced around the cell warily. I sat up a little straighter.

"Don't tell me you can..." I trailed off meaningfully, and he nodded miserably. Apparently the timeline had finally cleared enough for him to time bridge - and he'd already proven that his time bridge could go through regular bridge jamming fields.

"I found out yesterday. I wanted to get the dispenser fixed or replaced before I told anyone and...went," he said. "I guess I should've just gone."

"No, because then you wouldn't be able to go get help," I told him, my mood brightening. "The Autobots know who has us, but not where. I'm betting you, being you, can give them that."

"I'm not leaving you here alone!" Vector protested.

"No? And what do you think Megatron will do when he realizes who you are? So far he hasn't clued in, but he will sooner or later, especially once Soundwave recovers," I countered. "No, you need to scram, and fast."

"You're not going to be much better off if he finds out about _you_ - he doesn't exactly like...your kind." Vector censored himself as he glared at me.

"You'll just have to make sure you rescue me before he finds out," I replied. "Go." Vector looked ready to protest more, but I gave him a sharp look, and with an almost resentful 'goodbye', he disappeared. It was less than a minute later when some Decepticons, clearly watching the cameras, stormed into the brig, demanding to know where Vector had gone. I told them I didn't know, that he'd just said he'd had a way out, and then he was gone.

"Liar! We heard you talking, you knew exactly where he was going!" one of them sneered.

"And if you heard that, then you heard us talking about escaping and did nothing. Boy, I bet Megatron will love that," I said sweetly. _That _fist to my face was what finally made my systems give up and send me into stasis lock.

When they had finally repaired enough damage for me to function on a conscious level, I woke to find myself thrown over someone's shoulder. Said someone was running, and as I watched a wall cave in behind me, I realized they were running for good reason. That didn't stop it from hurting like slag, however, and I whimpered, asking to be let down before I realized there was no atmosphere for my carrier to hear me. I opened up my comms to ask instead, and -

_Feel you hear you where are you looking for you want to destroy burn crush you protections gone tired tired no more waiting end this one way end it now kill you destroy rip you apart not the time doesn't matter end it end it now -_

It continued babbling in my head, and I started to struggle against whoever was carrying me.

"Let me down!" I demanded over comms, and amazing, it worked. Movement stopped, and I was dumped on the ground. I gasped, pain flaring up, and found myself facing a furious Megatron once again, several very grouchy looking Decepticons, one of which had just been carrying me, standing around behind him, weapons drawn and watching the corridor on either side of them warily.

_"How did you bring the Fallen here?" _ Megatron demanded.

"I didn't!" I protested.

_"You expect me to believe that it's coincidence that he shows up less than a joor after your friend disappears, when my guards caught you two discussing him going to get help?" _Megatron snarled. _"I knew Prime was desperate when he formed an alliance with organics, but to ally himself with Unicronians as well is farther than I'd ever thought he'd go."_

"He's not - the Fallen isn't here to _rescue_ me, he's trying to fragging _kill me!_" I replied incredulously.

_"What interest could he possibly have in you?"_ Megatron sneered.

"What interest do _you_ have in me?" I asked.

_"You're leverage, nothing more."_ Megatron replied disdainfully.

"Yeah, well, he thinks I can free him from his eternity of serving Unicron!" I shot back. "Leverage, of a different sort!" Megatron frowned, my response making him pause for once.

_"How could you free him from serving Unicron?"_ the Decepticon leader asked, and though there was a hint of disdain in his voice, it wasn't as bad as before.

"It's a very long story, but -" I was interrupted as Megatron cut the connection, his head snapping to the side. The wall he was looking towards promptly exploded inwards, showering the Decepticons and me in debris. Their weapons came around, but they faltered at what was on the other side. It wasn't the Fallen - it was much, much worse. The older, bigger, and more armored Vector looked peeved enough, but ahead of him, Magnus was positively livid, and before the Decepticons could even think about surrendering, he'd taken half of them out. Megatron saw his troops falling and didn't even hesitate before transforming, knocking over his few remaining soldiers as he shot off down the corridor, blasting through the wall at the end and keeping on going. He obviously didn't fancy his chances much. Meanwhile, I looked over at Vector with a grin.

"Toldja," I informed him over comms, and he shook his head as Magnus stepped over and blocked my view, concern on his face. I switched my connection to Magnus and let my grin slip into a smile. "Hey. I hear you brought the Fallen as backup?" Magnus chuckled.

_"More like Vector and I decided to take advantage of the distraction he was creating. Can you walk?"_ Magnus asked.

"No, I don't think so," I replied, shaking my head. Considering I couldn't even feel my right leg, I didn't want to chance it.

_"I'll have to carry you, then. The Decepticon bridge jammer is still in place, so we'll have to walk a ways to get off this rock,"_ Magnus said.

"And the Fallen will be looking for us as we go," I told him cheerfully, and Magnus frowned. "Don't ask me why or how, but he's here looking for me."

_"Very well, we'll just have to be careful, then,_" Magnus said, lifting me up. He motioned for Vector to go ahead, and the other mech left through the hole they'd made in the wall, Magnus just behind him. They moved quickly through the Decepticon, sometimes crossing open Martian ground - it only took one good look at the landscape for me to realize we were on Mars - but it was clear to tell the Fallen was following us, and getting steadily closer.

"This is going to do wonders for Megatron thinking we're working together," I grumbled. To someone who didn't know all the facts, I'm sure it looked like the Fallen was covering our escape.

_"What?"_ Magnus asked distractedly.

"Nothing, I -" the Fallen's voice, which I'd relegated to a background hum, suddenly got louder, overpowering everything else.

_See you see you there you are here I am finish it destroy crush burn he's here to he will die and you will suffer and then die -_

He seemed to be getting more coherent, and I wasn't sure that was a good thing. Looking back over Magnus's shoulder, I expected to meet the Fallen's burning optics, but frowned when I didn't. I could see his hulking form moving in our direction, but the smoke was so thick that I couldn't see anything through it - there was no way he should have been able to see us.

Magnus suddenly stopped short, and I looked ahead again, finding Vector facing off against three of Soundwave's symbiotes. The Fallen's mutterings grew louder in my mind, and I realized what was happening. Fracture had said Cybertronian telepaths were sensitive to each other - and just as I could keep Soundwave out if I wanted to, there was no way he could keep the Fallen out, keep him from taking over and controlling him. I frowned, looking at the symbiotes, but knew that they weren't who I needed to go after. I cast about, looking for their possessed master, looking for Soundwave. I found him, hidden amidst smoke, and summoned my strength to lash out at him.

I hit a wall, but it shook when I hit, and in my own mind, the Fallen's muttering abruptly stopped. I lashed out again against the walls around Soundwave's mind, and this time they broke. I knew I didn't have much time before the Fallen gathered his strength and pushed me out, so I did the only thing I could think of - I reached out and grabbed Soundwave, holding on as tightly as possible. He seemed to get the idea, and grabbed back. Alone and on level footing, the Fallen and I were equally matched. Weakened as I was, he could beat me - but with Soundwave's help, I could overpower him. The telepath didn't want to be dominated anymore than anyone else would, especially by the Fallen. We tossed the fragger out on his aft, and he howled in rage in my mind, starting to head personally in our direction. He continued to batter against Soundwave's and my combined defenses, but we weren't letting him in.

Then Soundwave's control faltered slightly, and while I managed to make up for the lack, when he came back, it was to an image of the outside world, and I risked putting all the control in his hands, letting him use my strength to keep the Fallen away as I dealt with the image he'd shown me.

"Don't! He's coming with us!" I called to Vector over the comm lines, and he looked back at me from where he had his rifle pointed at Soundwave's head.

_"He's what?"_ Magnus asked incredulously.

"No time to explain, we have to get away, and we can't leave Soundwave or his symbiotes here!" I said urgently. I knew that they would become pawns of the Fallen, and Unicron, if we left them here.

_"Terry -"_ Magnus tried to protest one last time.

"He's coming, or by god, I'm staying," I snarled, and Magnus got the hint. When I saw Vector grudgingly sling the telepath over his shoulder, I submerged myself back in the mental battlefield, where the Fallen was still battering away at our combined defenses. Soundwave was still holding him off, but he didn't seem to know quite what to do with all my power at his disposal, as well, and I quickly took back the reins. Together, we kept out the Fallen until we felt a space bridge, and we were suddenly too far away for him to reach. I broke the connection with a shudder, Soundwave pushing me away as quickly as I did him, neither of us wanting to be linked together outside of that emergency.

I returned to the Ganymede base bridging room, where Soundwave and his symbiotes were being held at gunpoint by some very angry looking Autobots. Not all the glares were directed at Soundwave, either, and I recalled what Magnus has said - Vector and he had decided to take advantage of the Fallen's distraction. Just the two of them, no mention of Prowl or Optimus.

"What the _frag_ is going on?" Hearing Prowl curse was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I wish I could have enjoyed it more, but as he stepped forward, his own weapon drawn and pointed in Soundwave's direction, I knew I didn't have time to enjoy it.

"The Fallen showed up looking for me, I don't know why, and he used Soundwave's telepathy to possess and try to take him over. I couldn't just leave him to be taken over, so I told Magnus and Vector to bring him with us," I said in a rush.

"What?" Prowl asked, startled out of his anger to stare at me.

"I'll second that," Magnus commented with a frown. "What?"

"Vector was there when Fracture explained it - Cybertronian telepaths are susceptible to each other. We're actually more susceptible to each other's powers than non-telepathic Cybertronians. Which makes it dangerous when you have telepaths of different strengths, because the stronger ones can take over the weaker ones, totally dominating their mind. The Fallen was doing that to Soundwave," I explained with a nod in the Decepticon's direction.

"Her statement is correct," Soundwave confirmed in his monotone - not that his support helped much.

"'We'?" Magnus asked me incredulously.

"Yeah, didn't I tell you that came as part and parcel of inheriting the Herald's body?" I replied, realizing now, of course, that I hadn't. I had implied it, but I hadn't outright stated 'oh yeah, I'm telepathic now.' Then I realized who I'd just said what in front of, and I turned to frown at Soundwave.

"Fact: statement confirms earlier supposition," the telepath commented, probably picking up on my surface thoughts - I could detect a bit of his, if I tried.

"And what do you intend to do about it?" I asked.

"Fact: the Fallen and Unicron are no friends of the Decepticons. Personal intentions regarding recently acquired information: inform Megatron. Probable result: temporary cease-fire to deal with the Fallen," Soundwave replied, then paused before adding. "Qualifier: my freedom."

"Do you have a safe spot off Mars you can bridge to?" I asked him.

"You expect us to just let him go?" Magnus demanded with a growl.

"Yes," I said, looking up at him. "He _needs_ to go."

"Why? We've been trying to take Soundwave down since the start of the war. He's tortured and killed thousands of Autobots, destroyed the minds of prisoners so that even if we could rescue them, there was nothing left of the friends we once knew. And now we have him here, in our hands." Magnus's grip on me tightened as he glared at Soundwave.

"And if you don't let him go, then Megatron is going to assume that the Autobots are working with the Fallen and Unicron, and there will be no more mercy. There will be no more torture, no more prisoners - only death. The war that Fracture spoke of will have started," I said calmly. I could see it all very clearly in my mind - as petty as Megatron was now, I'd seen his face before Vector and Magnus had shown up. He wouldn't let a single Autobot live if he thought they'd allied with the Fallen and Unicron. "The Fallen's attack may have been a perfect distraction, but unfortunately, you showing up to rescue me at that time sent entirely the wrong message."

"So you're saying it's my fault that we have to let Soundwave go." Magnus glared down at me.

"In a way, yes," I said, mentally grimacing. "You chose to come save me, and now you must let him go, or risk a war that will destroy the galaxy."

"Very well," Magnus ground out, looking extremely unhappy about it.

"No! No fragging way, we can't just let him go!" one of the other Autobots in the room objected, and others quickly spoke up, objecting as well.

"QUIET!" Prowl's bellow drowned them all out, and he glared around the assembled Autobots. "Terry is right. Soundwave must return to the Decepticons." He turned his gaze to the telepath, glaring intensely. "We will have our justice on him someday, but it will not be today." Soundwave inclined his head slightly, and slowly, a space cleared around him. He gave the co-ordinates for his bridge destination, and Prowl personally input them, probably rightfully doubting any other Autobot's ability to resist the temptation of inputting incorrect co-ordinates. Then, with a small flash, Soundwave and his symbiotes were gone.

"Now that that's done, someone _please _get Ratchet." I rested my head against Magnus's shoulder, letting exhaustion swept over me. Between my injuries at the hands of the Decepticons, and my actions that day, I was running on empty, and I hurt on top of it. Without something to focus on, I fell into a haze of pain and system warnings. I was vaguely aware of movement around me, of the ugly green of Ratchet's paint job amoung all the others, and I had the vaguely lucid thought that he'd picked the distinctive colour on purpose so that injured mechs would know instantly that it was him. I resolved to ask him later, and had forgotten by the time stasis finally claimed me.


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer:** Not mine!

**A/N:** So this chapter is a bit mary-sueish. It amuses me, and makes sense in my brain. ^.^ Do review!

**- Chapter 12 -**

I woke in med bay a full twelve hours later, an exhausted-looking Magnus sitting on the berth next to me, and Vector not far beyond him. On the other side of me, Ratchet straightened and glared at the two of them.

"There. She's awake. _Now_ will you get out of my med bay?" he demanded.

"Ratchet, please," Magnus even sounded exhausted.

"Fine, you have five minutes, then she goes back into recharge, and you go back to your quarters and get some of the same," Ratchet said, then stormed off. Magnus watched him go for a moment, then slid off the berth he was sitting on and came to stand by me. In the background, Vector nodded once to me, a fond smile on his face, and then left.

"Hello," Magnus said softly, drawing my attention back to him. A mess of emotions crossed his face as I looked at him, and I tried to smile a bit as I replied.

"Hello yourself."

"How are you feeling?" he asked, and I contemplated that answer for a moment.

"Numb," I settled on. "I think Ratchet did something to my pain sensors. Or the Cybertronian recovery process feels really weird." Magnus smiled tiredly.

"He turned them off," he said. "One of the perks of being Cybertronian."

"Oh, well, that's good," I said, then, because I couldn't think of anything else to say, added, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Magnus asked, looking surprised.

"I dunno, for getting my aft captured, for making you take Soundwave with us and then let him go?" I suggested. "Seemed like the thing to say."

"You have nothing to apologize for," Magnus assured me. "You were right on all counts regarding Soundwave, and we should have set up a moon-wide bridge jammer a long time ago. I'm just glad you had Vector with you, and that he can bypass bridge jammers."

"Me too," I said. Magnus didn't say anymore, but leaned over and kissed me lightly - though I could barely feel it, I suspected Ratchet had turned off more than just my pain sensors. Then Magnus was gone, walking out of the med bay, and Ratchet was by my berth again, putting me into a forced recharge.

Ratchet was there again when I woke up, immediately identifiable, and my only lucid thought from after Soundwave bridged out came back to me.

"You picked that ugly-aft colour on purpose because you knew no one else would, didn't you?" I asked, and the medic looked up at me from where he was doing something to my arm (which, I realized, I couldn't feel, or move).

"Excuse me?" he asked.

"Your plating. You picked that horrible colour so that injured Autobots would know just from it that you were there," I elaborated.

"Of course not," he said with a snort. I was quiet for a few moments before speaking again.

"Whatcha doing?" I asked, feeling decidedly awake and in need of entertainment. My systems may have still been sending me error messages, and half my sensors may have still been turned off, but my mind was wide awake.

"Fixing you," Ratchet replied.

"Obviously. What part in particular?" I asked. "I mean, I know it's on my arm, but I can't lift my head to see."

"Your hand. Astrotrain crushed it," Ratchet ground out.

"Oh. Right," I replied.

"If this is how humans react to trauma, I am letting their own doctors handle them," Ratchet muttered.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"You know what? You're not even supposed to be conscious," Ratchet said, and reached out with one hand to a console above my head.

"Hey, wait -" Recharge closed around me.

When I woke up the next time, all the error messages were gone, and my sensors were all back online. Ratchet was once again waiting for me, with, oddly, Prowl in the background.

"How are you feeling?" Ratchet asked me when I looked over at him.

"Fine?" I replied. I'd felt fine the last two times I'd woken up, too, so I wasn't so sure that was the correct answer.

"No pains in your joints or anything? No error messages?" Ratchet asked.

"Hmm...nope," I replied honestly.

"Good," Ratchet said, then walked away, nodding to Prowl as he went, and the tactician came to stand beside my berth. He gave me an intent look, and I squirmed a bit.

"Something up, Prowl?" I asked.

"Perhaps," he said. "Vector told us that Megatron had Astrotrain...work you over."

"Yeah, and I'd tell you he hits like a train, but I think that pun is too horrible even for me," I said with a small groan, remembering the armor-bending punches.

"I see," Prowl said with a sigh. "I am impressed you were coherent enough to debate with us about Soundwave, after that."

"Uhm," I didn't know quite what to say to that. I mean, it had hurt, but I had figured it was just, well, a warm-up. It wasn't as painful as I imagined real torture would be, and by the time I'd been rescued, my self repair systems had already taken care of the worst of it.

"Should you wish to talk about it," Prowl began, and I suddenly realized why he was there.

"You're the Autobot's trauma counselor? _Really?_" I blurted out in surprise, and Prowl frowned at me.

"I studied psychology before the war," he said. "I am qualified for the task, though usually there are others to do it instead. However, none of them have arrived here yet, and when Vector told us who had tortured you, I thought it best not to wait for them." I chewed on that statement for a moment, realizing what he was implying.

"Uhm. Not to shut you down or anything, because really the thought is appreciated, but honestly? It didn't hurt _that_ much," I said carefully. Prowl looked disconcerted.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I've felt worse," I said, shrugging. "It hurt, but the cramps I've had some months were just as bad, and the time I broke my leg hurt a hell of a lot more than that. I figure he was just warming up for the real painful part later." Prowl looked completely dumbfounded.

"Terry...Astrotrain is well known for his ability to cause severe pain without needing to 'warm up', and Ratchet has had the unfortunate opportunity to treat more than a few of his victims. He considered you one of the more damaged of those he's had to treat," the tactician finally said.

"I, uh, have a high pain tolerance?" I said after a moment, frowning.

"Evidently." Prowl's incredulity was thick. He sounded like he could barely believe what he was hearing.

"Tell me, Terry, do you find your sense of touch has been diminished since you became Cybertronian?" Ratchet was suddenly on my other side, and I looked at him in surprise.

"What? Uhm. Yeah, somewhat. Definitely a fair bit in my fingers," I replied. "Why?" Ratchet sighed.

"Of course. Humans have more nerve endings than a Cybertronian has sensors in their body, even without taking into account relative sizes," he said. "I'd wondered if human nerves just weren't as sensitive, with organic tissue losing more of the signal than our sensors, but this - this explains so many things."

"What does it explain?" I asked, utterly confused now.

"The human sense of touch - and pain - is evidently far more acute than a Cybertronians. And while you are Cybertronian now, you have experienced touch, and pain, as a human. Hence, what would be a debilitating and traumatic experience for one of us was not so for you," Ratchet replied, sounding annoyed, and glared at Prowl. "After all that fuss you, Magnus, and Vector made, it turns out she's 'felt worse' - monthly, if I understand her correctly."

"Apparently," Prowl said dryly. "Shall I go tell them to stop worrying?"

"Wait, everybody was all worked up about this?" I asked incredulously.

"Yes, they were worked up over the fact that you were tortured. Of course, they didn't know that you'd _felt worse_..." Ratchet was glaring at me now, and I suspected he'd be holding this against me for awhile.

"I could pretend I hadn't?" I suggested meekly.

"You're fine. Get out of my med bay," Ratchet stated, then turned and walked away. I watched him go for a moment, then turned to look up at Prowl.

"I feel like I should be apologizing," I said timidly.

"Don't. It's not necessary," Prowl said, shaking his head. "Frankly, I'm relieved you're fine. It is never a pleasant task to speak with someone suffering the mental after-effects of an encounter with Astrotrain. If anything, I should be thanking you."

"Er, ok," I said.

"However, I believe Ratchet said you were fine, and after all he's had to put up with over the past two days, you should leave before he comes back and you learn what it truly means to be traumatized," Prowl said dryly.

"I'm in favour of avoiding that," I said, sitting up. I was cautious at first, but it seemed Cybertronians were not like humans - I didn't ache, and I wasn't unsteady on my feet in the least. Everything worked fine, and at Prowl's urging, I proceeded him out of the med bay.

Not only were Magnus and Vector out in the hall, but so were Optimus, Elita, and Chromia, and they all looked up as I walked out. Their worried expressions, quickly smoothed away, made me want to run back inside. Fortunately, Prowl was behind me, stopping me from returning to the Wrath of Ratchet, and also ready with a helpful explanation.

"She's fine. She's 'felt worse'," he said dryly, seeming inordinately amused, and then slipped past me and down the hall as the five waiting Autobots looked at me in confusion.

"Apparently humans have a much higher pain tolerance than Cybertronians?" I said, feeling nervous. They'd obviously all been worried about me, and here I was, completely fine. "Not that your worry isn't appreciated and all, just, y'know. Turns out that it wasn't needed. Much." Silence for a few moments, and then Vector started snickering. He stepped forward, still snickering, and clapped me on the shoulder.

"You know, you were right, I don't think I _would_ make it as a human," he said, which made no sense to anyone but him, and then walked off down the corridor still snickering. I turned to the other four and shrugged. Magnus slowly shook his head and stepped forward, wrapping me in a gentle hug, which got stronger when he realized I wasn't flinching away.

"I'm glad you're alright," he said softly, then backed away.

"As are we all," Elita said, and suddenly I was surrounded by the four of them, being led down the corridors to Magnus's and my quarters while they talked about various unrelated things. At our quarters, Optimus, Elita, and Chromia said goodbye, pleading business elsewhere, and Magnus and I entered alone. When the door shut, he turned and gave me a funny look.

"You are...incredible, do you know that?" he said.

"Um. Really, this was just a case of the difference between human and Cybertronian physiology, it was nothing in specific to do with me," I tried to explain.

"That doesn't make you any less incredible," Magnus said solemnly, stepped over and wrapping his arms around me. "When we realized the Decepticons had you, I was terrified. I know what they're capable of, and I didn't want you to be subjected to any of it. But you were. You were at the mercy of one of the worst of them. I've seen the results of Astrotrain's work before, Terry. It's never pleasant, and some Autobots have never recovered from it. He had his hands on them for more than a day, it is true, but still..." Magnus trailed off. "I was worried. Very worried. And I am very, very glad that you are alright, no matter the reason."

"Me too," I murmured, leaning into the embrace. Magnus was silent for a moment before speaking again.

"Not that I want to pressure you about it, but this would have been much easier if we were bonded," he said.

"How?" I asked him incredulously. "Even bonded, you wouldn't have been able to stop them from taking Vector and I, and you came to rescue me pretty much as soon as possible."

"Yes, but I would have known whether or not you were alive, instead of panicking that I'd lost you, despite what Vector said," Magnus said, kissing me softly. "It's not so much preventing it from happening, as it is knowing how much I need to panic as it's happening."

"So essentially you just want to know what's happening to me at all times," I mused. "Sounds kinda like a stalker." Magnus chuckled.

"Well, apparently I do have 'creepy' tendencies," he said, and I giggled at the throw-back to the early days of our relationship, when things were so much simpler.

"By the way, I meant to ask but never got around to it - when you said the Stunticons took a shot at the restaurant, did you mean literally?" I asked.

"Unfortunately, yes. It was a smoking ruin by the time Optimus and the others drove off the Stunticons," Magnus replied, sounding regretful.

"Ah well, I'm sure Eric had it insured out the wazoo," I said.

"And he got a healthy grant from the government for an unspecified reason, too," Magnus assured me. "Still, I wish they hadn't destroyed it."

"Nostalgia?" I asked.

"Mmm, for a simpler time when there weren't multiple Primes and members of the First Thirteen wandering around," Magnus confirmed, kissing me again.

"And for when I was squishy?" I said when we broke apart.

"No, you know, I think I've lost any nostalgia for that," Magnus murmured, his hands starting to wander as he turned his attention to my neck cables.

"Well, haven't we come a long waaaa-" I jumped as on of his fingers brushed over something particularly sensitive. "What the frag was -" he did it again, and I found myself thoroughly distracted from any attempt at conversation as Magnus apparently decided to test boundaries again. He was quick enough to stop when I started getting uncomfortable, though he was obviously a little frustrated. Thinking about it as I powered down for recharge that night next to him, I realized I was probably torturing the poor mech - he'd lived quite awhile, most of it single, and a fair bit of it involved in a war when there wasn't exactly the opportunity to find 'casual company'. I resolved to see what I could do about feeling more comfortable with Cybertronian intimacy in the near future, though I had no idea how I was going to do that.

Prowl had taken over Magnus's duties for the next day, giving us the day off together, which I fully approved of, especially since Vector had apparently brought me back a gift from the future.

"Vector said it was the most advanced jukebox he could bring back without breaking the timeline," Magnus explained when I asked him what was in the giant box by the door. "Even then, he said you two were going to have to install it yourselves, since he doesn't want anyone else seeing it's internals."

"Oh really?" I peered curiously at the box, and Magnus sighed.

"You want to go install it now, don't you?" he asked.

"No, of course not, I want to spend the day with you!" I immediately protested, but couldn't stop myself from glancing over at the box. Magnus laughed.

"I'm sure you do - right after you install your futuristic jukebox," he said, and I pouted.

"It's shiney! And a present! I can't help it!" I whined, and Magnus shook his head as he stood up from the couch.

"Alright, let's go find Vector, then," he said, heading over to the box and picking it up.

"But -" I didn't protest any further at the look Magnus gave me. I followed him quietly for a few moments, but then I couldn't stop wondering what a futuristic jukebox would be like, and I started chattering to Magnus about it, wondering what it looked like, what features it would have, if it would have any future-music on it. Magnus let me go, though he seemed more than a little relieved when we finally found Vector - who, of course, wouldn't answer any of my questions, just telling me that I'd find out. Which I would, but that didn't stop me from pestering him all the way to The Lounge.

Fortunately, there weren't any Autobots in The Lounge when we entered, so we just went in and locked the door. As I opened the box, Magnus made to leave, only to have Vector stop him.

"It's not like you won't end up seeing more timeline-damaging things when you two bond," Vector grumbled, then turned back to the box. Magnus chuckled at that, while I became overly distracted by unpacking the jukebox. There wasn't anything really futuristic about it, I was disappointed to discover - in fact, it was made to look like a classic Earth jukebox, only with Cybertronian wiring. I couldn't see anything really damaging to the timeline, but Magnus perked up at a few points while he helped, inspecting a part carefully for a moment before passing it on. Vector seemed unconcerned with Magnus's inspection of the parts, though.

It was noon by the time we'd finished installing the jukebox, and we decided that tomorrow, Vector and I would load up songs on the thing. In the meantime, however, we unlocked The Lounge's doors, letting the Autobots access it again as Magnus and I returned to our quarters. The older Vector had things to do now, apparently, unlike his younger self - he assured me he wouldn't be 'wandering around bored'.

"Thank you," I told Magnus, kissing him lightly once we were inside.

"There's nothing to thank me for," Magnus assured me.

"Not even for being absurdly patient and incredibly understanding about how weird I am?" I asked him, and he chuckled.

"If you wish," he said. "However, we wouldn't be sparkmates if I wasn't able to deal with the more interesting aspects of your personality - and you with mine."

"I dunno, I think you have to put up with a lot more crap from me than I do with you," I told him dubiously. One of my wires was suddenly tweaked, sending a shiver through my systems, and I squeaked.

"Perhaps it just depends on your definition," Magnus purred, pulling me close. He drew away again almost as quickly, though, a lazy smile falling into place. "I believe I've already proven that I can push your human mind too far - and you have already proven that you are willing to put up with it, and to work with me in that regard." He kissed me lightly again, and as a response to his comment, I pulled him back to me to lengthen the kiss. He came willingly.

The next day Magnus returned to duty, and as planned, Vector and I spent it programming the jukebox, loading it with suitable songs. Various Autobots stopped by to express preferences or give suggestions - including Jazz, though I was the only one that knew about that - and we quickly had the jukebox loaded with a varied selection. We wrapped up as evening approached, wanting to give the Autobots the chance to try out the new jukebox. We weren't finished with it, not by a long shot - we'd barely gone through half of Jazz's music collection, and there were only a couple dozen human songs on it. We could work on it more tomorrow, however, and so Vector and I set off to find energon before enjoying the fruits of our labours for the day, sitting in The Lounge and listening to the various songs mechs picked. I found the Cybertronian music quite interesting, pretty in its own way and certainly unique - not in a bad way, either. It fit their race, having a digital quality to it that even electronica on Earth couldn't manage.

After we finished our energon, we headed out, Vector to a meeting with Optimus about something he wouldn't tell me, and me to find Magnus. I didn't make it.

"Oh god, where's Megatron when you need him," I whimpered, seeing the look on Chromia's face when she pounced, looping her arm through mine and dragging me off through the corridors.

"Awww, don't be like that," she said with a mock-pout. "I'm here to _help!"_

"With what?" I asked in alarm. "Ratchet hasn't cleared me for any sort of combat, even training, yet!"

"No, not combat, we'll deal with that later," Chromia said, giving me an appraising look, and I groaned.

"What, then?" I dreaded the answered, especially with the gleeful grin that spread across her face when I asked the question.

"You and Magnus, of course!" she said.

"What?" I spluttered.

"He was all worried when you were kidnapped, and it led to the asking of certain questions, which revealed that you two not only haven't bonded, but you haven't even _interfaced!"_ Chromia explained cheerfully.

"...I don't even want to know _how_ it led to the asking of those questions."

"Ironhide was just concerned," Chromia assured me.

"Ironhide was in on - Ironhide knows that we haven't -" The thought that Ironhide had been discussing Magnus's and my sex life made my processor stutter, and I wondered for a moment if I was about to have one of those rare lock-ups that Ratchet had warned me could happen. Chromia kept chattering, oblivious.

"Well Ironhide, Optimus and Ironhide have been friends for a long time, and while Optimus and Magnus are brothers and naturally closer, Optimus isn't exactly the type to ask his brother why he's so tense all the time, when by all rights he should be getting regular interfacing, so Ironhide stepped up, which -"

"I said I _didn't want to know,_" I whimpered, and Chromia, mercifully, stopped - both verbally and physically.

"See, this is exactly what I thought was the issue," she said, giving me a thoughtful look, and I stared at her dumbly.

"Huh?"

"Inside, I'll explain," she said, and turned to open a door, shoving me inside. It took only a brief glance around to realize where we were - her and Ironhide's quarters.

"Oh hell no!" I said, trying to scramble back out, but she was blocking my way, and then the door was shut.

"Don't worry, Ironhide is off distracting Magnus for the evening," Chromia said cheerfully.

"Why does that not reassure me," I muttered, then crossed my arms and glared at the cobalt-blue femme. "Alright, you said you'd explain."

"Yes, of course, have a seat," she said, motioning to a large couch in the center of the room, facing the computer terminal - they had, like most Autobots, set it up like a TV screen. Magnus had once confided that the only reason terminals in quarters didn't come already set up like that was because Prowl was a stickler for protocol - technically, watching vids or whatnot on the computer terminals was an unauthorized usage of Autobot hardware or some such. Not that anybody did anything about it.

"So," Chromia began once I'd taken a seat as she asked. She remained standing, by the computer terminal, looking a bit too much like she was about to start lecturing for my comfort. "When Ironhide relayed to me what he'd found out about your and Magnus's lack of certain activities, it occurred to me that your difficulties were likely a result of the fact that you were recently human, and from what I could get out of the databanks, human interfacing is quite different from Cybertronian."

"Yeah, I asked Ratchet about it," I said, making a face.

"Well, therein lies the problem. Ratchet knows the physical behind it, but he's a medic, and has been single for far too long. I'm not sure he even knows how to do it _himself_ anymore!" Chromia said with a dramatic sigh. "Anyways. I figured you could use a different perspective." She turned on the monitor, and started a video file. Like the videos Prowl had showed me, it didn't take long for me to realize what she was showing me, and relate it to a human equivalent.

"Oh my god, Cybertronian _porn?_"

When Chromia finally let me leave hours later, I'd seen more than I ever wanted to, and was desperately hoping that Magnus wasn't back in our quarters, because I didn't really want to face him after that. Human porn was one thing, but somehow watching three hours worth of Cybertronian porn had me more embarrassed than I'd ever been in my life. Chromia's matter-of-fact commentary on it probably hadn't helped much, especially when she related it to her personal experiences...usually with Ironhide. Though the anecdotes from before she met him were, perhaps, worse. I certainly wasn't going to be able to look Smokescreen in the face if he ever showed up.

Unfortunately for me, Magnus was indeed in our quarters when I got back, and though he tried to strike up a conversation, all I could do was mumble something incoherent before fleeing again. I made it out my usual airlock before I realized I was being silly, but after that exit, I couldn't exactly go back, so I decided to practice on using my abilities, since I was sure Fracture would be after me about them sooner rather than later. I'd been practicing for a few hours when I felt a presence behind me, and when I turned to look, I found an unfamiliar femme. I frowned slightly as I looked at her, not remembering her amoung the new arrivals, and then I realized I wasn't picking her up on my sensors.

"Hello," I said curiously over the comms, and she smiled back at me.

_"There is something they aren't telling you,"_ the femme said, her voice soft.

"There's always something someone isn't telling me - to whom in specific are you referring?" I asked curiously.

_"The Herald. Fracture. Jazz."_ The fondness with which she said the last name twigged a memory, and I frowned.

"You're Lightspark," I guessed, and the femme nodded.

_"I am," _she confirmed. _"The others don't think it's wise, but I wanted to warn you. You're prepared to give our race a great gift, to end a conflict millions of years old, and yet you don't know the price you might pay."_

"I've always known I might die attempting it," I commented. "I also figured out awhile ago that even if that happens, I'll have succeeded." Lightspark laughed lightly.

_"You _are _clever,"_ she said. _"It is true - though no one wants to mention it, the conflict will end if either the Fallen _or_ the Herald dies. You don't need to live to accomplish the task set before you. But that is not the price I'm speaking of."_

"Oh?"

_"Should you succeed, either the Herald or the Fallen will be destroyed. If it is the Herald, you will die as well, and you are prepared for this. But should the Fallen die as everyone hopes, the cost may be more devastating than your own life. The Herald's body may destroy itself when the cycle is broken, leaving you either a wandering spirit, or in your human body,"_ Lightspark said. I was quiet for a few moments, thinking that over.

"I haven't much gotten used to this whole I'm-now-immortal thing anyways. But trapped as a spirit, that would suck," I said finally, trying to be at least partially positive about this sudden revelation.

_"It would indeed,"_ Lightspark replied.

"Is there anything I could do to prevent it?" I asked.

_"I do not know for certain,"_ Lightspark replied. _"Vector might, or Fracture. I doubt it, however - this is a new and unique situation, even for them."_

"I don't suppose _you_ have any suggestions, then?" I asked with a sigh.

_"I would say that the best thing you can do is to tie yourself as tightly as you can to the life you want. The easier it is for a fate to come to be, the more likely it _will_ be,"_ Lightspark said after a moment.

"Tie myself tightly, hmm?" I mused. "Like bonding?"

_"Perhaps. That is the most obvious tie you could make, but it also has the most potential for disaster,"_ she replied.

"I don't doubt it," I said, looking out over the moon as I wondered what would happen to Magnus if I did bond with him, and any of the three less than ideal fates for me came to pass. If I died, I suspect he would too, but for him to be bound to a human, or to a spirit - I didn't want to think of what the effects would be.

_"One last thing,"_ Lightspark said, and I looked over at her again. _"Peace is not yours to build, but you may, perhaps, lay a few bricks in the foundation."_ With that cryptic comment, she was gone, and I was alone out on the lunar surface again. Looking around myself, I sighed, and headed back inside. Magnus was waiting up for me when I got back.

"I don't want to talk about it," I groaned, all the embarrassment from earlier rushing back, and I flopped onto the berth.

"Alright, but I thought you might like to know that Chromia has been cleared for duty on Earth. She and Ironhide will be leaving tomorrow," Magnus said as he came to join me.

_"Thank you,_" I said emphatically, pulling him over for an intense kiss, and Magnus laughed.

"I should start giving into your pleading more often, if this is the thanks I get," he said.

"I doubt I'll be as grateful for anything as I am for getting Chromia off this base," I told him solemnly. "But if you could ensure she and I are never on the same planetoid again without something to distract her, I would be perpetually grateful."

"I like the sound of that," Magnus said, pulling me closer for some more kisses. I backed off quickly when things started to get heated, though - sooner than I usually did - and hid my face rather than answer Magnus's questioning look, trying to distract myself from the mental replay of Chromia's videos that was now going through my head. After a few moments, Magnus realized he wasn't going to get an explanation out of me, and simply pulled me close before falling into recharge.


End file.
